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Material for 11,000 Nuclear Warheads Eliminated By U.S.-Russian Program, USEC Announces; Megatons to Megawatts Helps Turn Cold War Weapons into Clean, Reliable Electricity

Posted on: Wednesday, 28 June 2006, 15:00 CDT

The Megatons to Megawatts program has eliminated 275 metric tons of highly enriched uranium, equivalent to 11,000 nuclear warheads, USEC Inc. announced today.

As executive agent for the U.S. government, USEC implements the 20-year commercial agreement with the Russian executive agent OAO Techsnabexport (TENEX). Upon program's completion in 2013, 500 metric tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Russian nuclear warheads will have been downblended into low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel for use in commercial nuclear power plants.

The 275 metric tons converted to date could generate enough electricity to meet the country's demand for more than a year and contains the energy equivalent of 5.7 billion barrels of oil.

The U.S. and Russian executive agents have a successful 13-year record of operating the program on a commercial basis at no cost to taxpayers. After taking delivery from TENEX in Russia, USEC ships the LEU to the United States where it and LEU produced at USEC's Paducah, Ky., plant provide fuel for USEC's customers. In 2005, the Megatons to Megawatts fuel supplied over 44 percent of the U.S. requirements for enriched uranium used in the country's 103 nuclear reactors.

As part of the commercial implementation of the program, USEC pays TENEX for the separative work units (SWU) contained in the fuel. Under the contract, Russia is guaranteed to receive at least $7.6 billion from its sales to USEC. Through 2005, USEC had already paid Russia over $4.1 billion. Given current market conditions, USEC expects to pay more than the guaranteed amount for the SWU by the end of the contract term.

In marking this milestone, USEC President and CEO John K. Welch said, "The Megatons to Megawatts program is successful because it meets the needs of all interested parties. It provides an important source of fuel for America's nuclear reactors; it significantly reduces the amount of HEU remaining in the world; and it provides Russia with a substantial, dependable revenue source."

USEC Inc. (NYSE:USU), a global energy company, is a leading provider of enriched uranium fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.

Source: Business Wire

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