April 1, 2008
Energy Dept. Hesitates on Dealing With Uranium
By MATTHEW L. WALD
WASHINGTON -- The government is sitting on an inventory of partly processed uranium that could be sold for billions of dollars while prices are high, but the Energy Department is dawdling in deciding what to do with it, according to the Government Accountability Office.
The stockpile was formerly regarded as unwanted waste that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars to stabilize. But a steep increase in the price of uranium has made it valuable.
“Recent dramatic gains in uranium prices present the U.S. government with an opportunity to gain some benefit from material that was once considered a liability,” the G.O.A. said a report to Congress issued today.
“Unfortunately, D.O.E. has not completed a comprehensive assessment of its options with sufficient speed to take advantage of current market conditions,” the auditors found.
The Energy Department has said it would not sell too much of the uranium at once because that would hurt uranium producers. Processors and electric utilities, however, would benefit from lower prices for the raw material that ends up in nuclear power plants. (emphasis mine. SB)
To read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/01/washington/01cnd-nuke.html?ex
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