Veolia’s U.S. nuclear clean up arm has won a contract with the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management to clean up the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site in Southern Ohio. The Portsmouth Decontamination and Decommissioning (contract is worth some $5.87 billion over a 10-year period. Veolia Nuclear Solutions – Federal Services (VNSFS) will act as an integrated subcontractor and the new contract replaces one currently held by Fluor–BWXT Portsmouth, LLC.
Under the contract Veolia will conduct demolition and disposal of facilities, process equipment, related process buildings, and other ancillary facilities. The contract also includes remediation of contaminated soils and groundwater, and disposition of uranium material.
The site is a 3,700-acre federal reservation built in the early 1950s by the US Atomic Energy Commission. It was one of three large gaseous diffusion plants initially constructed to produce enriched uranium to support the nation’s nuclear weapons programme and, in later years, enriched uranium used by commercial nuclear reactors.
“We are delighted to be named as one of the operators tasked with waste management operations at the Portsmouth site. VNS’ advantage lies in its ability to operate sites like Portsmouth and innovate new processes to meet the demands of the time,” said Christine Lucas Lamouroux, CEO of Veolia Nuclear Solutions.
