Isotek Systems business and the US Department of Energy (DOE) have signed a contract modification to perform processing operations for disposition of uranium-233 material located at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee until 2024.
This contract modification for the U-233 Disposition Project is aligned with the company's new strategy moving forward towards engineering services and greater growth, Isotek said.
Since 2003, Isotek, a wholly owned subsidiary of Atkins Nuclear Secured, has been contracted by the US DOE to oversee the inventory of U-233 and prepare its removal from ORNL's Building 3019, the nation's oldest operating nuclear facility.
This contract modification continues that partnership and authorises $254 million to fund and continue Isotek's mission to safely dispose of more than 80% of the remaining U-233 inventory. To date, around half of the inventory has been removed from Building 3019 and directly disposed.
Since October 2019, Isotek has been processing canisters of U-233 in Building 2026 and shipping the processed material for safe permanent disposal. The contractor is also extracting thorium-229, which is being used to support cancer treatment research.
