Russia’s depleted uranium processing capacity to double after Zelenogorsk launch

ZELENOGORSK /Krasnoyarsk Region/, September 14. /TASS/. The facility to process depleted uranium has been launched at the Electrochemical Plant in Zelenogorsk in Russia’s East Siberian Krasnoyarsk Region, which will enable the country to double its depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUHF) processing capacity, Rosatom Chief Executive Officer Alexey Likhachev said.

This is the second such facility in Russia for DUHF processing, with a capacity of 10,000 tons annually. The first facility also operates at the Electrochemical Plant.

"The launch of the new depleted uranium hexafluoride processing facility is a landmark event for the Electrochemical Plant, the fuel division [of Rosatom], and Russia’s entire nuclear industry <…>. The technology will help increase Russia’s DUHF de-fluorination capacity twofold to 20,000 tons per year and ensure the conversion of depleted uranium into a chemically safe form to store it without environmental risk," the chief executive said in an address.