LEXINGTON, Ky. - EM’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) and contractor Mid-America Conversion Services (MCS) recently agreed to a partnering framework for a collaborative approach to the safe and successful operation of the Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Project.
EM’s partnering policy encourages doing business based on trust, dedication to common goals and understanding and respect for each other’s expectations and values. Partnering agreements support improvements to deliver EM projects on time and within budget.
The agreement represents a commitment to continuously improve the process of converting EM’s 700,000-plus metric-ton inventory of DUF6 at its southern Ohio and western Kentucky gaseous diffusion plant sites to more stable compounds for safe reuse and disposal.
EM awarded MCS, a joint venture led by Atkins with Westinghouse Electric and Fluor Federal Services, a five-year contract in September 2016 to assume operation and maintenance of the conversion plants, maintenance and management of the specially designed storage cylinders and disposition of end products. MCS began operating the facilities under the approximately $320.5 million contract in February 2017.
The agreement goes a step beyond the contractual-regulatory relationship to influence day-to-day interactions, according to PPPO Manager Robert Edwards.
“This partnering framework envisions a deliberate process to ensure and maintain open communication and early conflict resolution," Edwards said. “These objectives are key to our collective success."
MCS President and Project Manager Alan Parker said the partnering team will meet periodically and discuss progress, issues and lessons learned.
“This crucial and complex project requires constant communication between the contractor and the Department, which owns the facilities and the mission," Parker said. “At MCS, we’re committed to the partnering and teaming approach, which aligns with our organizational culture and complements DOE’s Integrated Safety Management System and other important standards."
DUF6 resulted from the gaseous diffusion process that produced enriched uranium at the Portsmouth and Paducah sites for national security applications and later commercial nuclear fuel. The two plants operated from the early 1950s until they ceased production in 2001 and 2013, respectively.
The sites are currently undergoing environmental cleanup that began in the late 1980s. DUF6 conversion has been part of the cleanup program since EM’s specially designed and constructed conversion facilities began operating at the Portsmouth and Paducah sites in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Source: U.S. Dept. of Energy, Office of Environmental Management
