What We Will Do
URENCO USA* is currently being built on a site in Lea County, New Mexico, five miles east of Eunice. When operational, it will be the only facility of its kind in North America. The facility will enable the US to have a domestic source of enriched uranium for the country’s commercial nuclear power plants. URENCO USA* will use the world’s most advanced, energy efficient and cost effective uranium technology. Developed by URENCO, the technology has been in use for over 30 years.
URENCO USA*
URENCO USA* will provide a sustainable source of low enriched uranium (LEU) thereby substantially reducing US reliance on the global nuclear fuel marketplace and encouraging competition within the US market. USEC is the only other company currently producing enriched uranium in the US.
In 2001, the US produced only 12% of its needed supply of enriched uranium, behind Russia supplying 55% and URENCO supplying 16% of the US demand. Full capacity operation of URENCO USA* is expected to annually produce 3 million separative work units (SWUs) of uranium, which is approximately one-fourth of current US enrichment services demand.
URENCO USA* will produce LEU using the URENCO-developed gas centrifuge technology, proven to be more cost effective and energy efficient than gaseous diffusion. The enrichment process involves the concentration of U235, one of the isotopes in natural uranium. U235, only 0.7% of the weight of natural uranium, is the needed isotope because it is the one that fissions (splits) inside the core of nuclear power reactors and releases energy in the process. The concentration of U235 is increased slightly or ‘low-enriched’ from 0.7% to 3 to 5% during the centrifuge process.
URENCO USA* will house thousands of centrifuges that spin uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas at high enough speeds to separate the fissile U235, from the heavier U238 isotope. By contrast, gaseous diffusion is based on the separation effect arising from molecular diffusion, i.e. the flow of gas through small holes to separate the isotopes. The URENCO USA* facility centrifuge-enriched uranium, with greater concentration of U235, is then ready to be converted into fuel.
The byproduct of the enrichment process is depleted uranium, containing about 0.3% U235. LES will store the uranium byproduct in Uranium Byproduct Cylinders (UBCs) at URENCO USA* , just as URENCO has safely stored UBCs at its European facilities for 30 years. This storage process will be regulated by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which will determine how many UBCs can be stored at URENCO USA* and the length of storage time. LES will also work with the New Mexico Environment Department to ensure compliance with the highest environmental standards.
New Mexico
New Mexico was chosen as the site for URENCO USA* for several reasons, notably its history as a hub of scientific research and development and strong support from both Lea County leaders, business people and state officials.
*The National Enrichment Facility was rebranded URENCO USA on January 2, 2010.