Y-12 Uranium-Processing Systems Nearly Operational

Most uranium-processing systems at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn. are operational for the first time in 10 years, the Associated Press reported Friday (see GSN, Nov. 18).

The plant has restarted its “wet chemistry” program, which uses six processes to recycle enriched uranium from old nuclear weapons for reuse, said Bill Brumley, Oak Ridge chief of the National Nuclear Security Administration. 

BWXT, Y-12’s managing contractor, successfully tested a primary extraction of uranium, Brumley said. The other five processes were restarted last month.

The plant’s processing operations were shut down in 1994 due to safety concerns arising from poor oversight (Associated Press/Tennesseean.com, Dec. 17).

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