Metropolis gets 10-year licence extension

17 May 2007

[ConverDyn, 15 May] The operating licence of Honeywell International's Metropolis uranium hexafluoride (UF6) conversion plant in Illinois has been renewed for a further ten years by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The plant can now operate until May 2017. Honeywell submitted an application to renew the licence on 27 May 2005. The Metropolis plant began operating in 1958 to satisfy a contract with the former US Atomic Energy Commission. Following completion of the contract, the facility was mothballed in 1964. It underwent rehabilitation in 1967 and has operated as a private converter since 1968. It is the only UF6 conversion facility in the USA.

Further information

Honeywell International

US Nuclear Regulatory Commission

WNA's The Nuclear Fuel Cycle information paper

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