Whitfield Fights to Keep Jobs in Paducah at Congressional Hearing | News | Congressman Ed Whitfield

News | Congressman Ed Whitfield | United States Representative

Whitfield Fights to Keep Jobs in Paducah at Congressional Hearing April 3, 2008 WASHINGTON - U.S. Representative Ed Whitfield called on fellow Members of Congress today to move swiftly and pass legislation he has introduced that would keep employees at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant working and bring millions of dollars to the region for environmental clean-up.

Whitfield participated in a hearing held today by the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations entitled, "Selling the Department of Energy's Depleted Uranium Stockpile: Opportunities and Challenges." The purpose of the hearing was to discuss how best to utilize the 700,000 tons of uranium tails contained in cylinders located at the Paducah and Portsmouth, Ohio plant sites.

"For more than 50 years, the plant in Paducah has provided good jobs to the community and has been a key element in the local economy," Whitfield said. "But the plant has also left the community with a legacy of environmental damage. It would be a gross injustice, it would be outrageous, if the U.S. government were to allow private companies in other countries or other states to hijack this waste and move it elsewhere for re-enrichment."

The stockpile of uranium tails located in Paducah and Portsmouth was previously regarded as unwanted waste and had been destined for dismantling and disposal. However, the price of uranium skyrocketed in recent years putting the value of these uranium tails at $7.6 billion. In 2000, uranium was trading at $7 per pound. Last August, the price had gone to $138 per pound.

With the value of these uranium tails high, various private companies throughout the world are now interested in acquiring these tails to send to Russia, France or other states such as New Mexico for re-enrichment. Whitfield asserted that he finds these proposals to be unacceptable as the plant sites in Paducah and Portsmouth who have had the burden of storing this hazardous waste for decades must benefit from their disposal.

"Not surprisingly, I suppose, now that it has value, there apparently are other parties out there who have developed an interest in these waste cylinders," Whitfield said. "I have two words to say to them: Go Away."

Whitfield introduced legislation last November which provides a reasonable solution to the disposal of the uranium tails and would keep the Paducah plant open for several years beyond the planned 2012 closure date. His bill, H.R. 4189, directs the Department of Energy (DOE) to contract with USEC, the operator of the Paducah plant, to re-enrich the uranium tails. Whitfield's legislation would help resolve the environmental problem of disposing of these tails, generate revenue to continue environmental cleanup efforts and give additional life to the Paducah plant.

Today's hearing coincides with a report released Tuesday by the Government Accountability Office which examines the potential use of this nuclear material. The report outlined the three viable options for the use of the uranium tails, but was favorable to Whitfield?s proposal. The options the GAO report laid out were for the DOE to sell the tails in their current form, contract to re-enrich the tails at the Paducah plant or store the tails indefinitely.

Serious problems exist with some of the alternatives, but not for contracting to re-enrich the tails here in the United States. Under current law, DOE could not even legally sell the depleted uranium tails in their present form. Furthermore, even if the law were changed, DOE would most likely receive lower prices for selling the tails in their current form as buyers take on substantial risk with this purchase.

Storing the tails indefinitely would also present difficulties as the value of the tails is completely sensitive to the price of uranium. The GAO report stated that it is timely to take advantage of market conditions to dispose of these uranium tails.

While DOE has been working on a plan on how to manage the uranium tails for the past three years, no proposal has yet to be released. The GAO report states that "Unfortunately, DOE has not completed a comprehensive assessment of its options with sufficient speed to take advantage of current market conditions." Whitfield argued that in light of these facts, it is prudent for Congress to enact his proposal and obtain the highest value possible for the uranium tails.

Whitfield questioned four witnesses at the hearing. The witnesses were Managing Director of the Natural Resource and the Environment Department of the Government Accountability Office Robert Robinson, DOE's Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy the Honorable Dennis Spurgeon, Executive Vice President and Chief Nuclear Officer of the Nuclear Energy Institute Marvin Fertel and United Steelworkers, Local 550 President Rob Ervin.

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