EnergySolutions Celebrates Operational Readiness Review at DUF6 Conversion Facility

SALT LAKE CITY, UT--(Marketwire - September 9, 2010) -  EnergySolutions, Inc. (NYSE: ES) a managing partner of the Uranium Disposition, Services, LLC (UDS), and the U.S. Department of Energy participated today in a ceremony recognizing the Operational Readiness Review or Testing Phase of the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Facility at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

"EnergySolutions is proud to participate in celebrating this milestone with the U.S. Department of Energy, (DOE) today as we enter the test phase of the DUF6 Conversion Facility," said Val Christensen, President and CEO of EnergySolutions. "This facility, when in full operation, is an environmentally important step in the front end of the nuclear fuel cycle and advances the United States nuclear energy capabilities."

EnergySolutions took control of the project in 2007 to manage the operational views and construction, providing leadership to complete the construction project within budget and on time.

The DUF6 Conversion Facility will begin converting more than 250,000 metric tons of depleted uranium into uranium oxide a more stable uranium compound. After conversion, the uranium oxide will be repackaged for re-use or permanent disposal. 

When in full operation the plant will provide approximately 160 full-time jobs. The facilities constructed at the site consist of a 64,000 square-foot process building that houses the majority of the conversion equipment, a warehouse, administration building and several small support buildings.

EnergySolutions offers customers a full range of integrated services and solutions, including nuclear operations, characterization, decommissioning, decontamination, site closure, transportation, nuclear materials management, processing, recycling, and disposition of nuclear waste, and research and engineering services across the nuclear fuel cycle.

UDS is a partnership between EnergySolutions, AREVA NP Inc., and Burns and Roe Enterprises Incorporated. The UDS corporate headquarters is in Lexington, KY. UDS is a prime contractor to the DOE Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office to design, construct, and operate the DUF6 Conversion Project facilities in Piketon, Ohio, and Paducah, Kentucky.

For more information please contact Mark Walker at 801-649-2194 or mwalker@energysolutions.com.

Contact Information:

Mark Walker
801-649-2194