Kenneth Fletcher
RW Monitor
12/5/2014
Honeywell’s Metropolis Works uranium conversion plant is slated to enter a 90-day “routine maintenance shutdown” in early January to make facility upgrades. While the facility last month experienced a uranium hexafluoride release as a result of equipment failure, the maintenance had been scheduled before that in September. “We have had significant softness in end markets for uranium hexafluoride (UF6) caused by both the post-Fukushima drop in demand for nuclear fuel and the U.S. Department of Energy’s practice of approving the transfer and sale of uranium and UF6 from the government’s inventory into commercial markets for less than fair market value,” Plant Manager Jim Pritchett told employees in a Nov. 20 message. “The result is that we project lower demand in 2015 and will be able to take advantage of this extended shutdown period to make all updates and capital improvements planned.”
He added: “Honeywell continues to invest significantly in the Metropolis operations, having invested nearly $177 million over the past 10 years in capital improvements, including more than $50 million in safety projects. The company is planning another $14.5 million in improvements in 2015.”
