3 years in the works. Tri-Cities company finishes $20 million facility

Framatome in Richland has opened a new $20 million facility at its Richland plant that will be used to recover scrap uranium that has picked up contaminants in its nuclear fuel fabrication operation.

The 11,000-square-foot, high-bay facility replaces a more than 35-year-old facility in one of the company’s buildings at its Horn Rapids Road plant. It had been under construction for almost three years.

The uranium it recovers is turned into uranium dioxide powder to be used in fuel for nuclear power reactors around the world.

Recovering and using scrap uranium reduces waste at the plant.

The new facility allows more efficient processing of the scrapped uranium, offering value for its customers, said Lionel Gaiffe, a senior executive vice president for Framatome.

It also includes new and upgraded equipment that protects workers with enhanced safety features and ergonomics design.

The Framatome plant has been producing nuclear power reactor fuel for more than 50 years in Richland.

It employs about 575 workers and produces about 2,600 fuel assemblies and 96 million fuel pellets. It supplies fuel to commercial pressurized water and boiling water reactors.

This story was originally published October 6, 2020 at 12:14 PM.