What will happen to the waste products from the enrichment process?
Enrichment processes generate a product of 3 to 5 percent U-235 for use as nuclear fuel and a product of depleted uranium (about 0.3 percent U-235). The depleted uranium has some commercial applications in counterweights and antitank armaments. However, the commercial demand for depleted uranium is much less than the amounts generated (the U.S. Department of Energy [DOE] has about 750,000 metric tons of depleted uranium in storage). Under the U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC) Privatization Act, DOE is required to accept depleted uranium from an NRC-licensed uranium enrichment facility if the depleted uranium is determined to be low-level radioactive waste. NRC considers depleted uranium that has no commercial value to be low-level radioactive waste. If the depleted uranium has no commercial use, the licensee can transfer the material to DOE or dispose of it at a commercial disposal site if it meets the disposal sites requirements. Under the USEC Privatization Act, the licensee must re
