The Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management (EM) manages
approximately 700,000 metric tons of depleted uranium hexafluoride at the gaseous
diffusion plants located near Paducah, Kentucky. and Portsmouth, Ohio. It plans to
convert the depleted uranium hexafluoride to a stable material. The conversion process
will produce approximately 55 1,000 metric tons of depleted uranium oxide - a relatively
stable form that can be handled and disposed of by direct burial or, potentially, used in
various materials or products. Over a period of about 13 years, the Department has
conducted research which established that the oxide could possibly be used in catalysts,
semiconductors, nuclear repository applications and radiation shielding products.
