Honeywell uranium conversion plant resumes production

Honeywell announced this past week that its Metropolitan Works facility has resumed its production operations at full capacity.

The plant was closed following a leak of uranium hexafluoride that occurred on Aug. 1, requiring a special investigation to be carried out by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The company says the leak was attributed to an overpressurized system that had been under maintenance at the time of the incident.

Honeywell told the NRC that the leaked material had been contained within the facility and that radiation levels in the area were determined to be lower than the maximum-allowed radiation. The company states that it has implemented corrective actions in relation to this incident and has reviewed them with NRC inspectors.

The one-of-a-kind facility converts uranium ore into uranium hexafluoride, which is an important component to producing the necessary enriched uranium to be used in commercial power plants across the country.

Based in Metropolis, Illinois, the facility employs approximately 350 personnel. It operates under Honeywell's Flourine Products business unit within Honeywell Performance Materials and Technologies division.