John Ellis, Sequoyah Fuels president, said Thursday he has asked U.S. Rep. Dan Boren (D-Oklahoma), U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) and U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) to help remove the depleted uranium from the Sequoyah Fuels site.
Ellis said the depleted uranium is not a danger to residents, and is well secured. He said about one million pounds of the depleted uranium is stored in sealed drums in a concrete block building, which has steel doors, a security system, and a fence.
"It is a danger to no one," Ellis said.
Boren, in a press release earlier this month, called on the Secretaries of Defense and Energy to submit a report to Congress outlining remediation plans for the depleted uranium stored at Sequoyah Fuels. Boren offered the provision as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House Armed Services Committee recently.
"Rep. Boren is trying to get this attached to this bill," Ellis said, adding, "The material belongs to the government. We've been trying to get the Army to remove it since 1993 (when the plant closed)."
Boren said, "This issue has been out there since 1993 and it's time to do something about it. We need to engage the appropriate federal agencies in a dialogue about getting this radioactive material out of our community."
Boren said about 1,200 barrels, or 1.5 million pounds, of depleted uranium have been stored at the site when the facility finished government-contract work involving uranium provided by the federal government. The site was used to convert DU6 to DU4 for use by the U.S. Army in anti-tank ammunition.
"The storage of this uranium is impeding efforts to decontaminate and decommission the facility," Boren said. "We need to get to the bottom of the issue and work with all parties involved to find a solution."
Boren's amendment requires a report be submitted to Congress within six months of enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act. The full House of Representatives must consider the measure.
Ellis said Thursday he has not heard from Boren and doesn't know where his efforts to move the depleted uranium stand.
"Ultimately," Ellis said, "if push comes to shove, we'll have to pay to get it out of there, and then sue the government to get paid back."
Ellis explained the DU4 is a chemical form of the chemical compound tetraflouride, and is in powdered form. After processing Sequoyah Fuels sent the powder to another company which made the anti-tank ammunition.
Although the DU4 which remains at Sequoyah Fuels "is not a small amount," Ellis said, "it is totally contained."
Ellis added that Sequoyah Fuels and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) continue to work on decontaminating and permanently closing the plant.
"We're working with the NRC on the last 13 or 14 items on the reclamation plan, and we're hoping we can get that done by next year, I hope - I hope."
The plant was shut down in June 1993 after workers founded extensive contamination at the site. What to do with the contaminated materials has slowed the NRC's decommissioning plans for the plant.
Plans to bury contaminated materials on site have been criticized by some neighbors.
Ellis said Thursday, "We have committed to shipping some of it (contaminated materials) off site, but the hardest thing is finding some place to take it, and that isn't happening."
