The United Steelworkers (USW) today applauded an agreement between the Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Northwest, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and U.S. Enrichment Corporation, Inc. (USEC) to keep the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, which was slated for closure at the end of this month, open for an additional year.

Under the agreement, the DOE will provide 9,000 metric tons of high-assay depleted uranium hexafluoride, also known as “tails,” to Energy Northwest. USEC, the contractor at the Paducah, Ky., facility, will enrich the tails to make 480 metric tons of low-enriched uranium.

“This agreement will keep 1,200 men and women employed for another year,” said Jim Key, Vice President of USW Local 550, which played a key role in working with the parties involved to secure the agreement. “It was several years in the making, and we are glad our hard work paid off,” said Key ... more