DOE RELEASES TRANSPORTATION PLAN FOR
PROPOSED UPCOMING URANIUM
HEXAFLUORIDE SHIPMENTS
 

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. -  The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today released a transportation plan that provides details on proposed plans to ship approximately 2,800 uranium hexafluoride cylinders from the DOE’s East Tennessee Technology Park to Portsmouth, Ohio.

The plan provides information on the upcoming shipments, including details on emergency preparedness training activities being performed in coordination with the States of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio.  DOE is proposing to begin shipments this year with shipments to be completed by 2005.  Under the proposed plan, the remaining cylinders located at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) will be shipped after 2005 under a separate transportation plan to be developed.

The majority of the material to be shipped to Portsmouth consists of depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) that is derived from past uranium enrichment operations at ETTP.  At Portsmouth, the DUF6 will be converted to a more stable form for future disposition.  These proposed shipments are pending completion of a National Environmental Policy Act review as announced in the Federal Register on April 28. 

The transportation plan was prepared by Bechtel Jacobs Company, LLC, DOE’s environmental management contractor.  The document has been provided to local and state officials and is available to the public at the DOE Information Center, located at 475 Oak Ridge Turnpike in Oak Ridge.

Gerald Boyd, Oak Ridge Offices Manager, said, “We believe that this document will serve as an important planning tool for State officials and will help inform the public on the nature of these upcoming shipments.  While this report does not provide information on the preferred shipping route, it does provide a complete picture of what we hope to accomplish in the next few years.”

A presentation on ETTP’s uranium hexafluoride cylinder program will be provided at the May 14 Site Specific Advisory Board meeting.  The document is also available at the following Web site:  http://www.oakridge.doe.gov/Foia/NEW.htm.

-DOE-

R-03-012