BETHESDA, Md., Apr 13, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --USEC Inc. (NYSE:USU) President and CEO John Welch issued the following statement today in support of President Barack Obama's Nuclear Security Summit:
"This week's historic summit in Washington is a timely reminder of the threat facing our world from potential nuclear action by terrorists. USEC and others in the commercial nuclear industry have worked for many years in close coordination with our governments to support the security and elimination of nuclear weapons material around the world in order to reduce this threat.
"The Megatons to Megawatts program USEC implements with TENEX and the U.S. and Russian governments demonstrates the results that can be achieved through such cooperation. Over the past 15 years, highly enriched uranium equivalent to more than 15,000 nuclear warheads has been eliminated by recycling it into fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. This fuel generates approximately 10 percent of the electricity used annually in the United States.
"We are proud of our role working with the U.S. and Russian governments and TENEX in implementing one of the most successful nonproliferation programs ever. The Megatons to Megawatts program is on schedule. By 2013, weapons-grade uranium equivalent to another 5,000 warheads will have been eliminated, for a total of 20,000 warheads recycled into fuel for peaceful, clean power generation. USEC and TENEX implement their contract commercially at no expense to taxpayers."
Welch will be speaking about USEC's role in nuclear security and nonproliferation, including the innovative nuclear material storage and transportation solutions provided by its subsidiary NAC International, on a panel discussion at the Nuclear Energy Institute's Nuclear Security Conference 2010 on April 14 in Washington, DC.
Background: Megatons to Megawatts
The Megatons to Megawatts program is a unique, commercially financed government-industry partnership in which 500 metric tons of weapons-grade uranium from dismantled Russian nuclear warheads are being recycled into low enriched uranium (LEU) used to produce fuel for American nuclear power plants. USEC, as executive agent for the U.S. government, and JSC "Techsnabexport" (TENEX), acting for the Russian government, implement this 20-year program.
The recycling of HEU into LEU begins with a multi-step process at several facilities in Russia. HEU metal is first removed from a warhead, machined into shavings, oxidized and fluorinated. The resulting highly enriched uranium hexafluoride is then mixed in a gaseous stream with slightly enriched uranium to form LEU suitable for commercial nuclear reactors. The LEU is checked to ensure it meets commercial specifications, transferred to shipping cylinders and sent to a collection point in St. Petersburg. USEC takes possession of the material there and ships it to USEC's facility in the United States where it is inspected and then included in USEC's inventory.
USEC Inc., a global energy company, is a leading supplier of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. NAC International, a wholly owned subsidiary of USEC Inc., provides specialized nuclear material transportation and storage technologies to assist organizations and governments with their nuclear nonproliferation efforts and has been involved in the removal, packaging and shipment of irradiated HEU, LEU and plutonium fuels from reactors in several sensitive geographic areas around the world.
SOURCE: USEC Inc.
USEC
Jeff Donald, 301-564-3418