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Article Highlights * Revelations about Iran's secret Fordow fuel enrichment plant have been seen as proof that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons. * But the facility's small capacity makes enriching either reactor-grade or even bomb-grade uranium extremely time-consuming and impractical. * Although it is significant that Iran has officially declared that there are no further secret nuclear facilities such as Fordow inside the country, it's possible that this facility could be one of several that has been either built or planned. When Iran's Fordow fuel enrichment plant first became public on September 25 at the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh, the underground facility, located near the holy city of Qom, was widely portrayed as proof that Tehran was pursuing nuclear weapons. In particular, U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown claimed that the clandestine enrichment plant's "size and configuration" were "inconsistent with that of a peaceful program."

Article Highlights * Revelations about Iran's secret Fordow fuel enrichment plant have been seen as proof that Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons. * But the facility's small capacity makes enriching either reactor-grade or even bomb-grade uranium extremely time-consuming and impractical. * Although it is significant that Iran has officially declared that there are no further secret nuclear facilities such as Fordow inside the country, it's possible that this facility could be one of several that has been either built or planned. When Iran's Fordow fuel enrichment plant first became public on September 25 at the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh, the underground facility, located near the holy city of Qom, was widely portrayed as proof that Tehran was pursuing nuclear weapons. In particular, U.S. President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown claimed that the clandestine enrichment plant's "size and configuration" were "inconsistent with that of a peaceful program."

"On January 30, 2009, General Electric (GE)-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment LLC (GLE) submitted an environmental report to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for a license to construct, operate, and decommission the GLE Global Laser Enrichment Facility. The proposed GLE Facility would be located in the North-Central Sector of the existing GE property near Wilmington, North Carolina. The proposed GLE Facility, if licensed, would enrich uranium for use in commercial nuclear fuel for power reactors. Feed material would be comprised of non-enriched uranium hexafluoride (UF6). GLE would employ a laser-based enrichment process to enrich uranium to up to eight percent uranium-235 by weight, with an initial planned maximum target production of six million separative work units (SWUs) per year. GLE expects to begin preconstruction activities in 2011. If the license is approved, GLE would expect to begin facility construction in 2012, and continue some construction activities through 2017. GLE anticipates commencing initial production in 2013 and reaching peak production in 2017. Prior to license expiration in 2052, GLE would seek to renew its license to continue operating the facility, or plan for the decontamination and decommissioning of the facility per the applicable licensing conditions and NRC regulations. The proposed GLE Facility would be licensed in accordance with the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act. Specifically, an NRC license under Title 10, "Energy," of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Parts 30, 40, and 70 would be required to authorize GLE to possess and use special nuclear material, source material, and byproduct material at the proposed GLE site."

A study released today by The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) concludes that uranium enrichment in Canada is likely to be more profitable for the Canadian nuclear industry than exporting natural uranium and buying it back in enriched form. Uranium Enrichment in Canada provides a detailed analysis of the Canadian mining of uranium, its subsequent processing, current enrichment technologies and the capital and operating costs of a modern centrifuge enrichment plant. It explains Canada's position as the world's largest producer and exporter of uranium, with an active nuclear power sector, but without the capability to enrich uranium.

The US Supreme Court took its turn Tuesday in wrestling with the complexities of an eight-year-old case in which uranium supply company USEC and the US government argued that US antidumping duties should apply to low-enriched uranium exported to the US by French enricher Eurodif, a subsidiary of Areva. The critical issue in the case is whether uranium enrichment should be considered a good or a service. Under the antidumping law, goods are subject to the import duties but services are not. Part of the case's complexity comes from the unusual features of the nuclear fuel market. In most utility purchases of enriched uranium, the utility pays separately for the natural-uranium "feed" and the work by the enricher to raise the enrichment level of uranium-235 to the levels needed to fuel a nuclear power plant.

"It's a possible good news/bad news story for the planned $3.5 billion uranium-enrichment-plant project in Piketon, which could bring hundreds of jobs to economically struggling southern Ohio. The Department of Energy is moving ahead with plans to double the amount of federal loan guarantees available for enrichment projects to $4 billion. But the move could double the competition the Piketon project faces for a loan guarantee it must obtain to survive. The Obama administration's intent apparently is to be able to grant separate $2 billion loan guarantees to the USEC project in Piketon and a competing enrichment plant being built in Idaho by French-based Areva. USEC is a former federal corporation turned private company, based in suburban Washington, D.C., which ran the old enrichment plant that was shuttered in 2001 in Piketon. Uranium-enrichment plants produce nuclear power plant fuel."

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has accepted for formal review an environmental report submitted by General Electric-Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment LLC (GLE), as part of an application for a license to construct and operate a laser uranium enrichment plant near Wilmington, N.C. GLE submitted the environmental report Jan. 30. The NRC staff has determined that the report is sufficiently complete to begin a formal technical review. The report is one part of an application for a 40-year license to construct and operate a laser-based uranium enrichment facility at the existing General Electric/Global Nuclear Fuels-Americas site near Wilmington. The proposed facility would enrich uranium up to an assay level of 8 percent U-235, the isotope crucial for nuclear fission. The enriched uranium would be used in the production of fuel for commercial nuclear power reactors.

Iran is continuing to enrich uranium, a process potentially used to make an atom bomb, but has slowed down the expansion of its enrichment activities, the UN's atomic watchdog said Thursday. "Contrary to the decisions of the (United Nations) Security Council, Iran has not suspended its enrichment related activities," the International Atomic Energy Agency wrote in its latest report on Tehran's contested nuclear drive. Enriched uranium is used to make both nuclear fuel and the fissile material for an atom bomb. But a senior official close to the agency said that Iran's expansion of its enrichment plant in Natanz had slowed "considerably."

Uranium, the silvery-white mineral that powers nuclear reactors, is capturing growing attention amid burgeoning demand for power from emerging nations and a scramble to curtail carbon emissions. Here are some details about the uranium enrichment process: * WHAT IT MEANS: -- Enrichment is a process of increasing the proportion of fissile isotope found in uranium ore (represented by the symbol 'U') to make it usable as nuclear fuel or the compressed, explosive core of nuclear weapons. * WHY URANIUM MUST BE ENRICHED:

Uranium, the silvery-white mineral that powers nuclear reactors, is capturing growing attention amid burgeoning demand for power from emerging nations and a scramble to curtail carbon emissions. Here are some details about the uranium enrichment process: * WHAT IT MEANS: -- Enrichment is a process of increasing the proportion of fissile isotope found in uranium ore (represented by the symbol 'U') to make it usable as nuclear fuel or the compressed, explosive core of nuclear weapons. * WHY URANIUM MUST BE ENRICHED:

Uranium enricher Louisiana Energy Services on Friday said it plans to increase the capacity of its National Enrichment Facility in New Mexico to 5.9 million separative work units, a standard measure of enrichment, nearly double the original plan of 3 million SWU. The plant is currently under construction. In a press statement, LES, a Urenco subsidiary, said that with the expanded capacity, the plant would be able to provide the equivalent of about 50% of US enrichment demand. The total investment in the plant is now expected to be more than $3 billion, LES said.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold a public meeting June 4 in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to seek comments about specific issues that should be addressed in its environmental review of a proposed uranium enrichment facility. The meeting will be held at the Shilo Inn, 780 Lindsay Blvd. in Idaho Falls, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. NRC staff members will be available for an hour prior to the meeting to speak informally to members of the public. AREVA Enrichment Services LLC submitted an application Dec. 30, 2008, for a license to construct and operate a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility near Idaho Falls. AREVA resubmitted its application April 24 to double the facility's proposed production capacity. The proposed facility would enrich uranium for use in the production of fuel for commercial nuclear power reactors.

Areva has submitted a licence application to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for its proposed Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility. Areva announced its selection of the Idaho site for a 3 million SWU per year centrifuge enrichment plant in May 2008, and has submitted applications for a share of the $2 billion being made available in loan guarantees for advanced front-end nuclear fuel cycle facilities under the US Department of Energy's (DoE's) programme to help boost clean energy technologies in the USA. A new Areva subsidiary, Areva Enrichment Services LLC (AES), was formed in December to take responsibility for the company's US enrichment services and to own and operate the Eagle Rock plant.

GE's uranium enrichment venture has completed its license application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, staying on schedule with its efforts which are expected to bring more than 500 construction jobs to Castle Hayne as early as 2012. Global Laser Enrichment - a business venture of nuclear power plant builders GE and Hitachi, and uranium miner Cameco - announced Tuesday completion of the venture's license application seeking the NRC's approval to build the world's first commercial uranium enrichment facility to use laser technology.

General Electric Co., Hitachi Ltd. and Cameco Corp. plan to seek U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantees to help finance a venture that would use lasers to enrich uranium for nuclear fuel. GE Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment said today it completed an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to build the world's first commercial uranium enrichment plant to use laser technology. The proposed development in Wilmington, North Carolina, would create as many as 300 permanent engineering and support jobs, as well as employ more than 500 workers during construction, Tammy Orr, chief executive officer of Wilmington- based GE Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment, said today in a telephone interview.

In 2004, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) revealed that a member state had violated its Safeguards Agreement by carrying out covert uranium conversion and enrichment activities and plutonium experiments for more than two decades. The nature of certain of those enrichment activities, moreover, raised legitimate suspicions of interest in a nuclear weapons program. The state was found to have lied to the IAEA even when it began investigating these suspicious activities, claiming that its laser enrichment research did not involve any use of nuclear material.

In 2004, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) revealed that a member state had violated its Safeguards Agreement by carrying out covert uranium conversion and enrichment activities and plutonium experiments for more than two decades. The nature of certain of those enrichment activities, moreover, raised legitimate suspicions of interest in a nuclear weapons program. The state was found to have lied to the IAEA even when it began investigating these suspicious activities, claiming that its laser enrichment research did not involve any use of nuclear material.

"Nuclear energy's prospects are even better now that the Obama administration has promised $4 billion for uranium enrichment projects. That's double the previous limit -- a move meant to complement a separate loan guarantee program to promote the development of nuclear power in this country. Uranium, of course, is the fuel used to run nuclear power plants. At issue is the centrifuge technology, long used by European plants but fairly uncommon in the United States. Here, the efforts are centered on advancing older and more energy intensive models -- all to accommodate two decades of underinvestment in uranium mining and enrichment. Of the $4 billion in loan guarantees provided to enrichment efforts, $2 billion is expected to go a USEC project in southern Ohio and $2 billion to French-owned AREVA that is building a facility in Idaho."

Haunted by the goblins of the cold war, a Boise-based group is obsessed with a uranium enrichment plant GargoyleA relic with knee-jerk, anti-nuclear reflexes from the cold war has energized itself to oppose Areva's planned $2.4 billion "Eagle Rock" uranium enrichment plant in Idaho. The Boise-based Snake River Alliance (SRA) has a war chest of $300,000 from the Bullit and the Edwards Mother Earth foundations and Patagonia outdoor clothing. With a staff of five and a claim of 1,000 members, it is planning to mount a major campaign to drive Areva out of Idaho. The French nuclear energy firm announced plans in May 2008 to build a $2.4 billion uranium enrichment plant in eastern Idaho 18 miles west of Idaho Falls, ID. Areva chose the site after a yearlong nationwide search, with intense competition among five finalist sites, and only after the Idaho legislature offered tax incentives to sweeten the winning deal. Idaho Falls is one of the nation's most pro-nuclear cities with a sustained track record of standing up for Areva's project.

Haunted by the goblins of the cold war, a Boise-based group is obsessed with a uranium enrichment plant GargoyleA relic with knee-jerk, anti-nuclear reflexes from the cold war has energized itself to oppose Areva's planned $2.4 billion "Eagle Rock" uranium enrichment plant in Idaho. The Boise-based Snake River Alliance (SRA) has a war chest of $300,000 from the Bullit and the Edwards Mother Earth foundations and Patagonia outdoor clothing. With a staff of five and a claim of 1,000 members, it is planning to mount a major campaign to drive Areva out of Idaho. The French nuclear energy firm announced plans in May 2008 to build a $2.4 billion uranium enrichment plant in eastern Idaho 18 miles west of Idaho Falls, ID. Areva chose the site after a yearlong nationwide search, with intense competition among five finalist sites, and only after the Idaho legislature offered tax incentives to sweeten the winning deal. Idaho Falls is one of the nation's most pro-nuclear cities with a sustained track record of standing up for Areva's project.

In the wake of a French investigation into reports that nuclear waste is sent from French plants to Siberia, news has emerged that Germany has a long tradition of shipping toxic waste to Russia. The German anti-nuclear group "Ausgestrahlt" said that since 1996, Germany's only uranium enrichment plant in Gronau has shipped about 22,000 tons of uranium hexafluoride, which is a compound used in the uranium enrichment process, to Russia. "Ausgestrahlt" reported on Wednesday that only 10 percent of that was returned to Germany as enriched uranium. The anti-nuclear activists said the remaining 90 percent was stored in Siberia, outdoors and in rusting containers. Uranium hexafluoride is highly toxic and corrosive to most metals.

In the wake of a French investigation into reports that nuclear waste is sent from French plants to Siberia, news has emerged that Germany has a long tradition of shipping toxic waste to Russia. The German anti-nuclear group "Ausgestrahlt" said that since 1996, Germany's only uranium enrichment plant in Gronau has shipped about 22,000 tons of uranium hexafluoride, which is a compound used in the uranium enrichment process, to Russia. "Ausgestrahlt" reported on Wednesday that only 10 percent of that was returned to Germany as enriched uranium. The anti-nuclear activists said the remaining 90 percent was stored in Siberia, outdoors and in rusting containers. Uranium hexafluoride is highly toxic and corrosive to most metals.

Parsons has been awarded a two-year contract by LES to "provide engineering, construction management, and construction services" for the expansion phase of the National Enrichment Facility, Parsons announced February 3. The value of the contract was not disclosed. Parsons, a California-based engineering and construction firm, said it was awarded the contract "based on its approach, engineering excellence, and ability to partner and develop the project in a fast-track manner while meeting [NRC] licensing requirements." LES announced in November that it plans to expand the annual capacity of its centrifuge uranium enrichment facility under construction in Eunice, New Mexico from 3 million SWU to 5.9 million SWU. That will push the plant's predicted completion date to the end of 2014, resulting in a total construction cost of more than $3 billion, LES said last year. When completed, the facility will be able to provide 50% of all enriched fuel for the 104 operating power reactors in the US, Parsons said.

Since its groundbreaking in August 2006, Louisiana Energy Services' uranium enrichment facility near Eunice, N.M., has sprung out of the earth and expectations are the $1.5 billion facility will come on line by late 2009. Dana Starr, communications specialist for the National Enrichment Facility, as it is called, gave a presentation to Midland Rotary Club members Thursday at Midland Center. The plant will produce enriched uranium, which is needed to make fuel pellets that will be sent off to make electricity.

On December 30, 2008, AREVA Enrichment Services, LLC (a subsidiary of AREVA NC, Inc.), submitted an application to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), seeking a license to construct and operate a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility in the United States. Specifically, AREVA has selected a site in Bonneville County, Idaho, for its new facility, which will be known as the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility. For detail, contact us or see the following topics on this page: