LEXINGTON, Ky. - The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management (EM) Thursday announced it is extending its contract for Operations of Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Facilities at Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio for a period of up to four months.

The contract period for the current contractor, BWXT Conversion Services LLC (BWCS), had been scheduled to expire on September 30, 2016. The contract was previously extended non-competitively for a period of nine months to accommodate the competitive procurement process for a new DUF6 Operations contract and to avoid interruption of services. This additional non-competitive contract extension, valued at approximately $35.8 million, is intended to accommodate DOE's transition to the new contract without interruptions of ongoing services.

Ongoing services currently performed by BWCS that will continue during the four-month contract extension include operating the DUF6 conversion facilities, and continuing cylinder surveillance and maintenance for the DUF6 inventory and conversion facilities, among other services.

The DUF6 conversion plants were designed and constructed to convert DOE's inventory of more than 700,000 metric tons of DUF6 left over from decades of uranium enrichment at DOE's gaseous diffusion plants to a more stable uranium oxide form for beneficial reuse or disposal.

The mission of the Office of Environmental Management is to complete the safe cleanup of the environmental legacy brought about from five decades of nuclear weapons development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today praised the short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) passed by the Senate today which provides the U.S. Department of Energy flexibility to avoid disruption of the clean-up activities at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio.

"I'm pleased that we were able to secure funding to continue the cleanup work at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant," Portman stated. "Cleanup at the site is critical for jobs, economic development, and the future of southern Ohio. With strong bipartisan action on this important measure, it is now up to the Department of Energy to fully utilize its authority provided by Congress to avoid layoffs at this important project."

"Continued funding of work at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant is critical to maintaining local jobs and keeping cleanup on pace so the site can draw new investment in the future," said Brown. "Today's continuing resolution ensures that workers at the plant can report to work without interruption and continue their critical efforts to support southern Ohio's economy. I'll keep working to find a long-term solution for the Piketon community so workers and their families don't face uncertainty each year.

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