Operation of a Deconversion facility began in 2011. Confusingly called “conversion” by DOE, the process removes fluorine from Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) (the enrichment waste). Deconversion was stopped in 2015 as accidents contaminated workers. A new operator, Mid-America Conversion, restarted deconversion in 2018.   

Originally there were 225,000 metric tons of DUF6 onsite, some shipped prematurely from Oak Ridge, TN. The highly-reactive DUF6 was contained in roughly 19,500 cylinders, 10-14 tons each.  Many are 60 years old and rusting. DOE estimates it will take until 2036 to deconvert all the DUF6 onsite. 

DU ALERT! The NRC licensed Mid-America to make purified DU without doing the required Environmental Impact Statement. Purified DU is used in nuclear bombs. War zones as well as U.S. test sites have been contaminated with military DU. See ONFN’s flier (PORTS) and Depleted Uranium for Warfare.