SPECIAL NOTICE
99 -- Sale of Surplus Highly Enriched Uranium
- Notice Date
- 10/5/2004
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- Contracting Office
- P.O. Box 2050, Mail Stop 8009 Oak Ridge TN, 37831
- ZIP Code
- 37831
- Solicitation Number
- DOE-SNOTE-041005-001
- Archive Date
- 12/31/2004
- Description
- The Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is soliciting expressions of interest in the purchase and down-blending of surplus U.S. highly enriched uranium (HEU). NNSA is developing a list of companies that may be interested in the purchase of the surplus HEU. Interested parties may be commercial nuclear power companies, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) licensed facilities with blend down capabilities, nuclear fuel cycle suppliers, or teams consisting of several interested firms. The HEU being offered is believed to be high-purity material. When down-blended with commercial natural uranium, the bulk of this material should produce LEU that meets applicable ASTM specifications for commercial nuclear power reactor fuel. A portion of this material may require cross-blending or chemical purification to meet the applicable specifications. The chemical purification would primarily be required to remove the uranium from its current alloyed or compounded form. Any required cross-blending or chemical purification are the responsibility of the winning bidder or team. The winning bidder or team will be required to accept delivery of the HEU at a secure facility in the United States, licensed for possession and processing of HEU. The winning bidder will be responsible for ensuring the HEU is blended down to an enrichment level below 10 wt% 235U within two years of receipt. The quantity of HEU available will be no less than 15 tonnes and up to 17.4 tonnes. The majority of the HEU, 10 to 12.4 tonnes, is in the form of metal. The metal is in the form of broken pieces and slugs, with no dimension exceeding 2.25 inches. The HEU metal has an average enrichment of approximately 75 wt% 235U. A small portion of this material may require cross-blending or chemical purification to meet the applicable specifications. The remainder of the material is in the form of alloyed and unalloyed HEU metal, unirradiated HEU reactor fuel elements, and HEU compounds. This material would have an average enrichment in the range of 60-75 wt% 235U. The majority of this material may require cross-blending or chemical purification to meet the applicable specifications. The winning bidder will be expected to include in its proposal the capability to down-blend the HEU subject to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verification regime on the down-blending process (but not on material while in storage). Interested parties must be able to begin receiving the material by December 31, 2005. NNSA expects to deliver the material at a roughly steady rate during calendar years 2006-09. This is not a request for proposals (RFP). NNSA anticipates issuing a RFP in the first quarter of fiscal 2005 with award in the fourth quarter of FY 2005. A second announcement will be made prior to release of the RFP to finalize the bidders list. Interested parties should respond to this announcement by providing the following information: Company name, address, a point of contact, contact information (phone number and e-mail) and a statement of capabilities. Companies are encouraged to identify any concerns or issues that could impact their decision to bid on this material and/or suggestions on the structure of the business arrangement that may improve the economics of the sale. Any concerns or suggestions will be kept confidential, but will be considered in the development of terms and conditions of the RFP. NNSA may contact responding companies for additional information. Responses to this announcement are requested within two weeks of publication of this expression of interest. Responses should be sent to Carol Elliott, NNSA Y-12 National Security Complex, P.O. Box 2050, Mail Stop 8009, Oak Ridge, TN, 37831.
- Web Link
-
Click here for further details regarding this notice.
(http://e-center.doe.gov/doebiz.nsf/UNID/9788E54145576E8A85256F2400717192?OpenDocument)
- Record
- SN00689109-W 20041007/041005211728 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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