Perma-Fix reported down numbers for a “challenging” full year of 2012 late last week, but indicated that public pressure on the federal government to clean up tank waste at Hanford could be “transformative” for the company. “We’re very excited about what we see are the various options at Hanford right now,” Chairman and CEO Lou Centofanti said in a conference call with investors March 22. “Our facility at Hanford, Perma-Fix facility, would be allowed to accept the waste from those leaking tanks today. … It’s the only commercial facility that can handle [transuranic waste]. Also, our namesake process, the Perma-Fix process, would be ideal to treat this material since it is not a high-level waste but TRU waste. And also, I’d point out that we have treated tens of millions of gallons of material with this process, and we have tremendous expertise.”
In addition, Perma-Fix’s recent agreement with Kurion to use its GeoMelt In-Container Vitrification system “would allow us to treat a variety of other highly complex waste streams at Hanford and other sites where vitrification would be required or desired, and have no other commercially available treatment or disposal options,” Centofanti said. For several years the company has said it is positioning itself to treat more complex, higher-margin wastes, and during the conference call Centofanti told investors that the company was “making major strides in positioning ourselves for treatment of higher-activity waste streams.”
The company said it’s optimistic that DOE would have a better 2013 in terms of project spending, with the election cycle complete and the Department on the verge of confirming a new Energy Secretary, MIT professor Ernest Moniz. And public pressure from the leaking Hanford tanks are likely to benefit cleanup efforts at that site, the company indicated. “The candidate there is a strong supporter of nuclear energy and very familiar with the nuclear waste issue, especially at Hanford, having served as under secretary [of Energy] during the Clinton administration,” Centofanti said. “I believe the nuclear waste issue is expected to be an important topic during confirmation hearings, highlighting the pressure to accelerate the cleanup effort, especially at Hanford.”
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