WASHINGTON – Today, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz issued a determination permitting the Department of Energy to make uranium transfers to fund accelerated cleanup activities at the Portsmouth or Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Sites and the down blending of highly enriched uranium into low-enriched uranium to support national security objectives. The Determination finds that the proposed transfers of uranium will not have an adverse material impact on the domestic uranium industries.

The determination covers the Department’s sales or transfers of no more than 2,705 metric tons (MTU) of natural uranium (NU) or NU equivalent in a calendar year.  The proposed transfers include up to 650 MTU per year by the National Nuclear Security Administration in support of highly enriched uranium down blending activities, with the remainder of up to 2,705 MTU per year supporting accelerated cleanup activities by the Office of Environmental Management. These amounts are consistent with the principles and policies set forth in the 2012 Secretarial Determination and the Department’s Excess Uranium Inventory Management Plan released in July 2013.

The Secretary's determination is supported by an independent market impact analysis performed by Energy Resources International, Inc. as well as other information and analysis reviewed by the Department. The Department also considered input it has received from the uranium production, conversion and enrichment industries.

The USEC Privatization Act of 1996 requires the Secretary determine that these sales or transfers of uranium will not have an adverse material impact on the domestic uranium mining, conversion, or enrichment industries. 

Find a copy of the Secretarial Determination and the market impact analysis.