From left, Jim Johnson, Richard Darnall and Mike Price of Mid-America Conversion Services load a feed cylinder onto a transfer cart outside the depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion building at the Paducah Site.
From left, Jim Johnson, Richard Darnall and Mike Price of Mid-America Conversion Services load a feed cylinder onto a transfer cart outside the depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion building at the Paducah Site.

PADUCAH, Ky. – One of EM’s two plants that convert depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) to more stable compounds recently returned to conversion operations following a 20-month safety pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re very proud of the Paducah team. Safely restarting a nuclear facility after an extended shutdown takes hard work and a safe, conservative approach to make sure the job is done right the first time,” said Jim Barker, Paducah plant manager for Mid-America Conversion Services (MCS), EM’s DUF6 operations and maintenance contractor.

Photograph of two electricians performing work
Michael Gibson, standing, and Barry Oliver with Mid-America Conversion Services check electrical equipment before performing work at the Paducah Site depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion facility.

During the production hiatus, workers completed key upgrades and maintenance at both of EM’s DUF6 conversion facilities near Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio.

Commissioned in 2010 and 2011, the DUF6 facilities convert more than five decades’ worth of enrichment coproducts from the former Paducah, Portsmouth, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee gaseous-diffusion plants. The resulting materials are uranium oxide and aqueous hydrofluoric acid for safe reuse or disposal.

Mid-America Conversion Services (MCS) Paducah Plant

Mid-America Conversion Services (MCS) Paducah Plant Manager Jim Barker, front row, right, and United Steel Workers (USW) Local 550 President Gary Wilson, front row, left, hold the Kentucky Governor’s Safety and Health Award the company recently received. MCS recently surpassed 1.6 million work hours without a lost-time or recordable injury or illness. Also pictured are, back row, left to right, Ryan King, MCS security manager; Joe Johnson, MCS environmental safety and health manager; Ed Elder, MCS Paducah Site operations support manager; Chris Neely, USW unit vice president; Brad Richards, USW committeeman; and Jeff Buckhalter, MCS program manager.

EM’s other DUF6 conversion facility at the Portsmouth Site is being assessed for readiness following upgrades and other improvements to prepare for its restart, scheduled for later this year.

“Safe and deliberate conduct of operations and maintenance made the Paducah restart successful, and this is also being emphasized with the upcoming restart at Portsmouth,” said Zak Lafontaine, DUF6 program manager with EM’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO). “The Paducah restart is a key step toward getting the DUF6 Conversion Project back to full production.”