B&W awarded DOE uranium contract

The Babcock & Wilcox Company (B&W) announced today that Babcock & Wilcox Conversion Services, LLC (BWCS) was awarded a five year, US$ 428 million contract by the US Department of Energy (DOE) for uranium conversion operations at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

“We appreciate the Department of Energy awarding us this contract, which will further expand our portfolio of nuclear services,” said B&W TSG President S. Robert Cochran. “We look forward to working at Paducah and Portsmouth with the same high standards of safety and operational rigor that we apply throughout the company and have demonstrated at the other government sites we operate.”

Even though nuclear energy is now back in favour because of its relatively clean environmental credentials, the waste generated by nuclear power plants is still potentially lethal and is very difficult to dispose of. This facility will process the depleted uranium to make it safer to dispose of.

These conversion facilities were designed and built to convert DOE’s inventory of DUF6 to a more stable uranium oxide form (UOx) that can be characterised as acceptable for transportation and disposal. BWCS will also provide continuing cylinder surveillance and maintenance services for the inventory of DUF6, low-enrichment uranium hexafluoride (UF6), normal UF6, and other cylinders.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/10122010/babcock_and_wilcox_awarded_doe_uranium_contract/