Contractors working on cleanup of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant have saved more than half a million dollars in project costs by recycling oil waste.
The former USEC plant enriched uranium for more than half a century before halting production in 2013.
The U.S. Department of Energy say that Fluor clean-up services have been removing hundreds of thousands of gallons of lubricating oil from uranium enrichment process buildings.
More than 265,000 gallons had to be removed from large tanks and thousands of miles of pipes inside the building. Instead of immediate disposal, almost half of the drained oil was reused as a rinsing agent for electrical transformers – a move that is expected to save $500,000.
The oil was later shipped to Texas in 53 tanker truckloads.
Paducah Deactivation Project Manager Bob Smith says crews have removed a potential fire hazard and having reached an important step towards demolition.
The former USEC plant enriched uranium for more than half a century before halting production in 2013.