EM Priority: Oak Ridge Meets Uranium-233 Processing Goal Three Months Early

Workers load processed and downblended uranium-233 into a shipping cask for shipping and disposal. To date, they’ve transported about 490,000 pounds of the solidified waste for disposal out of state.

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. — The Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management (OREM) and contractor Isotek Systems met a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) 2025 priority to process 50 canisters of the radioactive material uranium-233 for shipment and disposal three months ahead of schedule, advancing the highest priority cleanup project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

“The team at Isotek has addressed every technical challenge tied to processing this material to deliver this EM priority for calendar year 2025 well ahead of schedule,” said Sarah Schaefer, Isotek president and project manager. “Their expertise and skill always amaze me.”

What’s more, Isotek team members soared past a separate EM goal by processing 77 canisters of uranium-233 for shipment and disposal during the fiscal year ending today, far exceeding their goal of 50 canisters for fiscal year 2025.

Isotek is contracted to eliminate the nation’s inventory of uranium-233 stored in the world’s oldest operating nuclear facility. Eliminating this material will remove a major risk, avoid significant costs associated with keeping the inventory safe and secure, and enable the demolition of the storage facility to transform ORNL’s central campus, supporting the national laboratory’s research and innovation missions.

“We focus on meeting our commitments and making the most of our opportunities,” Isotek Operations Manager Dale Caquelin said. “Now we have set our sights on completing the next 50 canisters for fiscal year 2026, which is a very challenging but worthy and achievable goal.”

Uranium-233 was created in the 1950s and 1960s for potential use in nuclear reactors but proved unviable as a fuel source. The radioactive material was sent to ORNL for long term storage where it has remained for decades.

Half of the inventory was dispositioned between 2011 and 2017. The remaining material requires processing to convert it into a form safe for transportation and disposal. Isotek began processing the remaining inventory in 2019.

“The material we are processing is problematic because of its significant radiological hazard and safeguard risk,” Caquelin said. “Processing converts the material to a stable, secure and compliant form that reduces these risks.”

Isotek employees at Oak Ridge met a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management priority to process 50 canisters of uranium-233 in 2025. The team met this goal three months ahead of schedule.

Isotek recently began processing a more challenging portion of the inventory called radiochemical processing-06. This material was solidified in a ceramic form unlike the powdered oxide in most of the other canisters. Workers developed special cutting equipment to segment it into sizes suitable for processing.

To date, Isotek has processed and removed more than 40% of the remaining uranium-233 inventory stored at ORNL. Workers have transported about 490,000 pounds of solidified waste for disposal out of state.

Isotek is also extracting an extremely rare medical isotope, thorium-229, from the uranium-233 before it’s processed and disposed of. This isotope is a crucial ingredient for a promising form of cancer treatment currently in clinical trials.

Isotek has already extracted more than 17 grams of thorium-229, which represents a 1,700% increase in the world’s supply. Currently, only 1 gram is available worldwide outside of Oak Ridge.

-Contributor: John Gray