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Louisiana Energy Services
The National Enrichment Facility (NEF) is a nuclear facility for the enrichment of uranium associated with the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The plant uses a gas centrifuge technology known as Zippe-type centrifuges. It is located east of Eunice, New Mexico. The NEF is operated by Louisiana Energy Services (LES), which is in turn owned by the Urenco Group. As of 2011, LES operates as URENCO USA. NEF employs a new type of license, the 10 CFR Part 2. It is a combination license granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) allowing the plant to proceed directly from construction to operation. First of its kind, this means NEF will be closely watched by many parties in the nuclear community. The original proposed budget was USD 1.5 billion, but this increased to USD 3 billion for an enlarged facility capable of 5.9 million SWU at full capacity. Since the Dedication Ceremony in October 2008, the company has grown to 236 employees with an annual payroll of USD 23 million. At ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uranium Enrichment
Enriched uranium is a type of uranium in which the percent composition of uranium-235 (written 235U) has been increased through the process of isotope separation. Naturally occurring uranium is composed of three major isotopes: uranium-238 (238U with 99.2739–99.2752% natural abundance), uranium-235 (235U, 0.7198–0.7202%), and uranium-234 (234U, 0.0050–0.0059%). 235U is the only nuclide existing in nature (in any appreciable amount) that is fissile with thermal neutrons. Enriched uranium is a critical component for both civil nuclear power generation and military nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Agency attempts to monitor and control enriched uranium supplies and processes in its efforts to ensure nuclear power generation safety and curb nuclear weapons proliferation. There are about 2,000 tonnes of highly enriched uranium in the world, produced mostly for nuclear power, nuclear weapons, naval propulsion, and smaller quantities for research reac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
