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Indusrty Input for Disposal
I found an interesting article in one of my many technical electronic
issues. Maybe it will be of use to someone or be disclaimed as
misinformation. I have not personally checked into activity, but
maybe some one out in RADSAFE can either confirm or deny the
proposition put out for industry. If anything, it's definitely a
heads up on something circulating out in the wide field of
environmental and safety engineering (that's the issuing group's
background).
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DOE SEEKS INDUSTRY INPUT INTO PLAN TO CONVERT
NUCLEAR MATERIAL TO A MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY
BENIGN FORM
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a solicitation seeking
private sector solutions for converting tons of depleted uranium
hexafluoride stored at government facilities in Kentucky, Ohio, and
Tennessee to a safer form. The solicitation for 'Expressions of
Interest,' asks private industry to submit innovative strategies for
transforming the 700,000 metric tons of depleted uranium hexafluoride
(DUF6) to a safer, more environmentally benign state. The DOE is
seeking ideas from industry to help it construct the conversion plants
at Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio, well before the
construction deadline of January 31, 2004. DUF6 is a byproduct of the
enrichment of uranium from the gaseous diffusion process. The material
was generated in vast quantities as a result of several decades of
uranium enrichment operations for both commercial and defense
purposes. Since 1990, DOE has conducted a focused program of cylinder
inspections, re-coatings, and relocations to assure that DUF6 is
safely stored until final disposition. While this material can
continue to be safely contained for years, the advanced age of some of
the cylinders has highlighted a potential environmental concern. "We
are seeking the help of private industry for two reasons," said
William D. Magwood IV, director of DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy,
Science and Technology. "First, we believe that industry, with the
incentive of market forces, is in a better position than government to
develop novel, effective and economical solutions for the eventual
disposition of our DUF6 inventory. This is a significant step
forward."
With the information received through this solicitation, DOE will be
able to examine a range of possible solutions and proceed with
implementation of a procurement strategy that will meet the
department's critical milestone for initiation of construction.
DOE's request for expressions of interest seeks private industry's
expert advice and counsel as it develops a strategy to achieve
important objectives that include: cylinder surveillance and
maintenance; design, construction, operation and final decommissioning
of conversion facilities; storage or use of conversion end products;
and disposition of unused products such as uranium, fluorine
compounds, and empty storage cylinders.
Interested parties may submit responses to the solicitation of
Expressions of Interest to: Thomas E. Brown, Procurement Analyst, U.S.
Department of Energy (MA-52), 1000 Independence Ave. SW, Washington,
DC 20585, no later than April 5, 1999. Additional information may be
obtained from http://www.ne.doe.gov/
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Bernadette Baca
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TDH - Bureau of Radiation Control
Uranium Licensing Project
1100 West 49th
Austin, TX 78756 - 3189
(512) 834 - 6688 ext: 2206
http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/ech/rad/pages/brc.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-My supervisor has not read or approved this message, much less agrees
with my point of view. Therefore, use at your own risk and humor.
mailto:Bernadette.Baca@tdh.state.tx.us
mailto:bbaca@netscape.net
"Beneath this chaos is a really big mess." - Jim Davis
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