The Energy Department has exercised a contract option valued at $750 million to extend decontamination and decommissioning work at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio to be performed by a Fluor-led (NYSE: FLR) team.Fluor said Thursday the Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth partnership will employ the help of subcontractors CH2M,  Pro2Serve, Innovative Solutions and Wastren Advantage through the 30-month extension period.
Fluor-BWXT will work to complete deactivation of the X-326 uranium enrichment plant and begin deactivation of the X-333 process facility, Fluor said.
The engineering and construction firm added the contract option also entails support to continue the uranium barter program, design the on-site waste disposal facility and build the first cells for contaminated plant soils and demolition debris.
Bruce Stanski, Fluor Government Group president, said the partnership has so far disposed of “millions of cubic yards” of waste, processed $1 billion in uranium inventory for the barter and removal program and shipped at least 7, 000 process gas system components.
Fluor-BWXT began work for the original five-year contract on March 28, 2011, Fluor noted.
The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, was launched in 1954 as part of government efforts to produce uranium for nuclear weapons production and fuel military reactors.
Uranium fuel supplier Centrus Energy stopped uranium enrichment operations at the plant in May 2001 and de-leased the plant back to DOE in September 2011.
