By Chad Lampe/ Angela Hatton
Murray, KY – Bills in both chambers of Congress filed by Representative Ed Whitfield and Senators McConnell and Paul, hope to extend the life of Paducah's Gaseous Diffusion plant. The bill would allow the facility to begin a two year pilot program to re-enrich depleted uranium or tails. The plant currently houses 40,000 cylinders of depleted uranium. Plant General Manager, Steve Penrod says the Department of Energy has had the statuary right to allow re-enrichment, but the issue revolves around selling the product.
"DOE currently has a DOE uranium management plan that currently limits their ability to sell uranium, only up to 10 percent of the volume consumed by the U.S. enrichment industry," said Penrod. "So, there is some concern relative to selling the uranium that is generated from the tales processing. They don't want to upset that limit."
Penrod says he is working with various constituent groups to try to move the legislation forward. He also receives support from the Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce and it's members. The bill is set to be heard in a house subcommittee next Monday. The two year pilot program would help extend the life of the plant and retain its 1,200 jobs. The plant's current contract with the Tennessee Valley Authority ends next May.