The removal of the DUF4 is another step in the plant's closing.
John Ellis, Sequoyah Fuels president, said the removal began Sunday and will most likely continue throughout the week.
He said the DUF4 is stored in sealed 55-gallon drums. The drums are stacked into steel containers, which are then welded and sealed. Each container holds about 38,000 pounds of DUF4, he added.
Both the drums and the steel containers are checked for leaks, he added. The containers are being taken to a former atomic bomb testing site in Nevada.
"It will actually will be buried at that site," Ellis said.
Ellis said he expected the entire million pounds of DUF4 to be removed from Sequoyah Fuels by Friday.
The removal of the DUF4, which Ellis described as a low-radiation product with a bright green color, was made possible through the Defense Authorization Act sign by President George W. Bush last year.
Ellis said the Oklahoma legislative delegation helped with the removal of the depleted uranium. U.S. Congressman Dan Boren (D-Okla.) and U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) worked on getting the language in the Defense Authorization Act requiring removal of the depleted uranium by the U.S. Army.
Sequoyah Fuels originally processed uranium for fuel rods for nuclear power generators, and then sold the depleted uranium to the U.S. Army for armor-piercing bullets.
Closed since 1993, Sequoyah Fuels has been in the long process of closing ever since.
Ellis said the next step in closing the plant will be for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to issue a draft environmental statement. He expects that will happen within four months.
Then the NRC will hold a public hearing locally on the draft environmental statement, probably in July or August.
The final statement will then be adopted and reclamation of the property will begin. That will include the disposal, on site, of contaminated materials. The materials will probably be stored in a lined cell. It is expected that process may take as long as three years.
Ellis said the only thing left standing will be the main office building, which he hopes can be useful to some company or organization in the future.
When the site is finally closed, the U.S. Department of Energy has agreed to take possession of the plant and between 100 and 300 acres surrounding the building.
Ellis said that the government will probably continue to monitor the groundwater at the site.
Ellis said it will take about five more years to completely close the site and transfer ownership. He has said in the past that he plans to retire at that time.
