[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 69 (Monday, April 11, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 21113-21116]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-07667]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

National Nuclear Security Administration


Secretarial Determination of No Adverse Impact on the Domestic 
Uranium Mining, Conversion, and Enrichment Industries To Support Mo-99 
Production

AGENCY: National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), Department of 
Energy (DOE).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On November 24, 2021, the Secretary of Energy issued a 
determination (``Secretarial Determination'') covering the sale, lease, 
or transfer of up to 750 kilograms uranium (kgU) of high-assay low 
enriched uranium (HALEU) (above 5 but less than 20 wt. percent uranium-
235) per calendar year to support the development and establishment of 
molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) production capabilities. For the reasons set 
forth in the Department's ``Analysis of Potential Impacts of Certain 
Uranium Transactions on the Domestic Uranium Mining, Conversion, and 
Enrichment Industries,'' which is incorporated into the Secretarial 
Determination, the Secretary determined that these transactions will 
not have an adverse material impact on the domestic uranium mining, 
conversion, or enrichment industry.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information 
may be sent to Brett Cox: [email protected] or (202) 287-
5191.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority and Background

    The Department of Energy (``the Department'') holds limited 
inventories of uranium in various forms and quantities that have been 
declared as excess and are not dedicated to U.S. national security 
missions. Within DOE, the National Nuclear Security Administration 
(NNSA) manages these inventories. NNSA down-blends excess highly-
enriched uranium (HEU) to high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU)-- a 
subset of low enriched uranium (LEU), enriched above the commercial 
level of 5 wt-% and below 20 wt-% of the isotope U-235. Common 
applications of such high-assay materials are as fuels for domestic and 
foreign research reactors and as target materials for the production of 
medical isotopes.
    This notice involves the sale, lease, or transfer of HALEU to 
support domestic molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) producers. These sales, leases, 
and transfers fulfill a directive in the American Medical Isotopes 
Production Act of 2012 (Pub. L. 112-239, Division C, Title XXXI, 
Subtitle F, 42 U.S.C. 2065) for the Department to establish a program 
to make HALEU available, through lease contracts, for the production of 
Mo-99 for medical uses. These sales, leases, and transfers also support 
U.S. nuclear nonproliferation initiatives, by down-blending HEU and 
encouraging the use of LEU in civilian applications in lieu of HEU.
    These sales, leases or transfers are conducted in accordance with 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et seq., ``AEA''), as 
amended, and other applicable law. Specifically, Title I, Chapters 6 
and 14 of the AEA authorize DOE to sell or transfer special nuclear 
material, including HALEU. The United States Enrichment Corporation 
(USEC) Privatization Act (Pub. L. 104-

[[Page 21114]]

134, 42 U.S.C. 2297h et seq.) places certain limitations on DOE's 
authority to sell or transfer uranium from its excess uranium 
inventory. Specifically, under section 3112(d) of the USEC 
Privatization Act (42 U.S.C. 2297h-10(d)), DOE may make certain sales 
or transfers of natural uranium or LEU if the Secretary determines that 
the sales or transfers ``will not have an adverse material impact on 
the domestic uranium mining, conversion or enrichment industry, taking 
into account the sales of uranium under the Russian Highly Enriched 
Uranium Agreement and the Suspension Agreement.''
    On November 23, 2021, the Secretary of Energy issued a 
determination covering the sale, lease, or transfer of up to 750 kgU of 
HALEU per calendar year to support the development and establishment of 
Mo-99 production capabilities. For the reasons set forth in the 
Department's ``Analysis of Potential Impacts of Certain Uranium 
Transactions on the Domestic Uranium Mining, Conversion, and Enrichment 
Industries,'' which is incorporated into the Secretarial Determination, 
the Secretary determined that these transactions will not have an 
adverse material impact on the domestic uranium mining, conversion, or 
enrichment industry. In accordance with section 306(a) of Division D, 
Title III of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations 
Act, 2015 (Pub. L. 113-235)), this determination is valid for no more 
than two calendar years following the date of the Secretarial 
Determination.

Signing Authority

    This document of the Department of Energy was signed on April 5, 
2022, by Corey Hinderstein, Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear 
Nonproliferation, pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of 
Energy. The document with the original signature and date is maintained 
by DOE. For administrative purposes only, and in compliance with 
requirements of the Office of the Federal Register, the undersigned DOE 
Federal Register Liaison Officer has been authorized to sign and submit 
the document in electronic format for publication, as an official 
document of the Department of Energy. This administrative process in no 
way alters the legal effect of this document upon publication in the 
Federal Register.

    Signed in Washington, DC, on April 6, 2022.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S. Department of Energy.
    Set forth below is the full text of the Secretarial Determination.

Secretarial Determination for the Sale, Lease, or Transfer of Certain 
High-Assay Low Enriched Uranium for the Next Two Years

    I determine that the sale, lease, or transfer of up to 750 kgU of 
high-assay low enriched uranium (above 5 but less than 20 wt. percent 
uranium-235) per calendar year to support the development and 
establishment of molybdenum-99 production capabilities will not have an 
adverse material impact on the domestic uranium mining, conversion, or 
enrichment industry. I base my conclusions on the Department's Analysis 
of Potential Impacts of Uranium Transfers on the Domestic Uranium 
Mining, Conversion, and Enrichment Industries, which is incorporated 
herein. As explained in that document, I have considered, inter alia, 
the requirements of the USEC Privatization Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 2297h 
et seq.), the nature of uranium markets, and the current status of the 
domestic uranium industries. I have also taken into account the sales 
of uranium under the Russian Highly Enriched Uranium Agreement and the 
Suspension Agreement.

Date: November 23, 2021
Jennifer Granholm,
Secretary of Energy

    Set forth below is the full text of the ``Analysis of Potential 
Impacts of Certain Uranium Transactions on the Domestic Uranium Mining, 
Conversion, and Enrichment Industries.''

Analysis of Potential Impacts of Certain Uranium Transactions on the 
Domestic Uranium Mining, Conversion, and Enrichment Industries

I. Introduction

A. Legal Authority

    The Department of Energy (DOE) manages its excess uranium inventory 
in accordance with the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 (42 U.S.C. 2011 et 
seq.) (AEA), as amended, and other applicable laws. Specifically, Title 
I, Chapters 6 and 14 of the AEA authorize DOE to sell or transfer 
special nuclear material. Low enriched uranium (LEU) is a type of 
special nuclear material.
    The United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) Privatization Act 
(Pub. L. 104-134, 42 U.S.C. 2297h et seq.) places certain limitations 
on DOE's authority to sell or transfer uranium from its excess uranium 
inventory. Specifically, under section 3112(d) of the USEC 
Privatization Act, DOE may make certain sales or transfers of natural 
uranium or LEU if the Secretary determines that the sales or transfers 
``will not have an adverse material impact on the domestic uranium 
mining, conversion or enrichment industry, taking into account the 
sales of uranium under the Russian Highly Enriched Uranium Agreement 
and the Suspension Agreement.'' (42 U.S.C. 2297h-10(d)(2)(B)). The 
validity of any determination under this section is limited to no more 
than two calendar years subsequent to the determination.\1\ The USEC 
Privatization Act also covers sales or transfers of enriched uranium 
for governmental purposes under section 3112(e), which are not subject 
to the same limitations of section 3112(d).
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    \1\ See section 306(a) of Division D, Title III of the 
Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 (Pub. 
L. 113-235).
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B. Transactions Considered in This Analysis

    Two types of potential transactions are considered in this 
analysis: (1) The lease of certain high-assay low enriched uranium 
(HALEU) (LEU enriched above 5 weight (wt.) % U-235, but less than 20 
wt. % U-235) for the production of molybdenum-99 (Mo-99); and (2) the 
sale or transfer of HALEU to producers for use in medical isotope 
research, development, and production.
    The first type of transaction is authorized under the American 
Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2012 \2\ (AMIPA). AMIPA directs the 
Department to establish a Uranium Lease and Take Back (ULTB) program to 
lease LEU for irradiation to produce Mo-99 in the United States without 
the use of highly enriched uranium (HEU). The leased material would be 
used as either driver fuel for reactors employed in medical isotope 
production, as target material for irradiation and extraction of Mo-99, 
or both. The exact uses and designs vary by producer, but fission-based 
production usually involves fabrication of uranium targets for 
irradiation in a reactor, followed by chemical processing to extract 
the Mo-99 for packaging into a generator and delivery to a 
radiopharmacy.
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    \2\ Public Law 112-239, Division C, Title XXXI, Subtitle F, 42 
U.S.C. 2065.
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    The second type of transaction considered in this analysis is a 
sale or transfer of HALEU to producers for use in medical isotope 
research and production processes that are not under the ULTB program 
and do not meet the criteria of section 3112(e)(3) of the USEC 
Privatization Act. Such uranium

[[Page 21115]]

sales or transfers would require a Secretarial Determination under 
section 3112(d)(2)(B) of the USEC Privatization Act as well as meeting 
the other criteria of section 3112(d)(2).
    The materials considered in this analysis would be transferred 
during calendar years 2021 through 2023 and consist of no more than 750 
kg of HALEU in any calendar year. Based on semi-annual LEU demand 
surveys conducted to determine domestic producers' material needs, 
DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) increased the 
amount being assessed in this Determination from 500 kg per calendar 
year for the last Determination (2019 to 2021), to 750 kg of HALEU per 
calendar year during this Determination period. Assuming a tails assay 
of 0.20 wt. % U-235, this quantity would be equivalent to approximately 
28,700 kgU of natural uranium hexafluoride and approximately 33,850 
separative work units (``SWU'') to produce 750 kg of HALEU at 19.75 wt. 
% U-235.\3\
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    \3\ The calculation is based on the Y-12 Standard Specification 
for LEU Metal Supply for Mo-99 Isotope Production, which assumes 
deliveries of quantities of 19.75 wt. % LEU. If any sale, lease, or 
transfer includes material at an assay other than 19.75 wt. %, the 
amount will be converted so that the total amount in any calendar 
year is equivalent to no more than 750 kgU at 19.75 wt. %.
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II. Analytical Approach

    The analytical approach relied on for previous Secretarial 
Determinations covering the sale, transfer, or lease of excess uranium 
for Mo-99 research and production (80 FR 65728, Oct. 27, 2015), the 
ULTB program (81 FR 1409, Jan. 12, 2016), and the Secretarial 
Determination for the Sale, Lease or Transfer of Uranium (signed and 
dated November 26, 2019) is repeated here and updated to the extent 
necessary.
    This analysis evaluates the state of the domestic uranium 
industries and the relevant impacts if DOE goes forward with these 
potential transactions. DOE has developed a set of factors that this 
analysis considers in assessing whether DOE's uranium sales and 
transfers will have an ``adverse material impact'' on the domestic 
uranium mining, conversion, or enrichment industry:

1. Prices
2. Production at existing facilities
3. Employment levels in the industry
4. Changes in capital improvement plans and development of future 
facilities
5. Long-term viability and health of the industry
6. Russian HEU Agreement and Russian Suspension Agreement

    While no single factor is dispositive of the issue, DOE believes 
that these factors are representative of the types of impacts that the 
proposed sale, lease, or transfer may have on the domestic uranium 
industries. Not every factor will necessarily be relevant on a given 
occasion or to a particular industry; DOE intends this list of factors 
only as a guide to its analysis.

III. Assessment of Potential Impacts

1. Prices

    There is currently no commercial supplier for HALEU. Therefore, 
there is no established market price for HALEU. DOE sets a price for 
HALEU based on a combination of commercial market price components for 
LEU, plus a charge for the separative work above the 5% LEU limit 
reflecting the historical cost to DOE to produce this material.
    The market value of 4.95% enriched LEU has risen 64% from its low 
point in October 2017. Industry analysts forecast a continued increase 
in the market value of LEU.\4\ The relatively small quantities of HALEU 
provided by DOE have not impacted the price increases in this market.
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    \4\ Energy Resources International, Inc. (ERI), Nuclear Fuel 
Cycle Supply and Price Report, ERI-2006-2101/June 2021.
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    Further, with no commercial provider for HALEU, the DOE sales and 
leases of HALEU would not displace production or affect prices among 
the commercial domestic uranium mining, conversion, or enrichment 
industries, and even if it did, the amount would be so small that the 
effects would be minimal.

2. Production at Existing Facilities

    An analysis of the impact of the proposed sales and leases based on 
an assessment of production at existing facilities is straightforward. 
There is currently no commercial supplier of HALEU in the United 
States. Due to the lack of a sufficient near-term market, owners and 
operators of enrichment facilities have not developed commercial HALEU 
enrichment capability to produce uranium enriched to 19.75 wt. % U-235. 
With the closing of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in 2013, the 
only operational uranium enrichment facility in the United States is 
the URENCO USA facility operated by Louisiana Energy Services, LLC, in 
Eunice, New Mexico, which is currently licensed by the Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission to possess uranium only up to 5.5 wt. % U-235.\5\
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    \5\ U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Materials License. 
License Number SNM-2010, Amendment 57, Docket Number 70-3103.
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    Further, it is not feasible for commercial Mo-99 producers to use 
commercially available assays of LEU (i.e., LEU enriched to 5 wt. % U-
235 or less) instead of HALEU. Given the specialized uses, designs, and 
regulatory requirements of the fuels and targets used for these isotope 
production purposes, use of commercial-assay LEU would prevent the 
reactor or target from achieving the same performance or efficiency and 
thus from being used for their intended purposes.
    Although the DOE sales and leases of HALEU would not displace 
production among the commercial domestic uranium mining, conversion, or 
enrichment industries, even if it did, the amount would be so small 
that the effects would be minimal. With respect to these industries, to 
produce the amount of HALEU in the proposed sales and leases from 
primary production would require approximately 75,000 pounds of uranium 
concentrates (U3O8), 28,700 kgU of conversion 
services, and 33,850 SWU of enrichment services. By comparison, the 
entire domestic fleet of nuclear reactors in 2020 required 
approximately 43 million pounds of U3O8, 16.2 
million kgU of conversion services, and about 14.8 million SWU.\6\ 
Therefore, the feed, conversion, and SWU content of the DOE material 
represents 0.18%, 0.18%, and 0.23% of annual domestic requirements, 
respectively.
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    \6\ The global requirements information comes from an analysis 
prepared by Energy Resources International, Inc. (ERI), Nuclear Fuel 
Cycle Supply and Price Report, ERI-2006-2101/June 2021.
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    The domestic conversion industry consists of only one facility that 
historically produced between 10 million kgU and 12 million kgU per 
year and reduced its capability to 7 million kgU in 2017. Honeywell, 
the owner of the sole domestic conversion facility, suspended operation 
in 2018, but recently announced that the plant would be restarted and 
projected that production would begin in early 2023.\7\ Thus, although 
there is currently no conversion occurring in the United States, there 
are signs of the market improving given this recent announcement.
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    \7\ Conversion Services Market update, Energy Resources 
International, Inc. (ERI), Nuclear Fuel Cycle Supply and Price 
Report, ERI-2006-2101/June 2021.
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    As mentioned above, there is only one currently operating 
commercial enrichment facility, URENCO USA's subsidiary, Louisiana 
Energy Services (LES), LLC in the United States. The total capacity of 
that facility is 4.9 million SWU.

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3. Employment Levels in the Industry

    As stated above, DOE sales and leases of HALEU would not displace 
production among the commercial domestic uranium mining, conversion, or 
enrichment industries, and therefore will not affect employment levels 
in these industries.

4. Changes in Capital Improvement Plans and Development of Future 
Facilities

    Although there is currently no domestic uranium enrichment 
capability to produce HALEU, there have been recent noteworthy 
developments. In 2019, the Department entered into a cost-shared 
contract for a HALEU Demonstration Program with American Centrifuge 
Operating, LLC (ACO), a subsidiary of the U.S. company, Centrus Energy 
Corp. (``Centrus''). The Program has objectives to deploy a 16-machine 
cascade of AC-100 M centrifuges in Piketon, Ohio to produce 19.75 wt. % 
U-235 with US-origin enrichment technology that will result in a small 
quantity of HALEU for use in research and development. In June 2021, 
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approved ACO's license 
amendment request to produce HALEU with an enrichment assay of up to 20 
wt. % U-235 at the Piketon facility.\8\
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    \8\ American Centrifuge Plant and HALEU, from an analysis 
prepared by Energy Resources International, Inc. (ERI), Nuclear Fuel 
Cycle Supply and Price Report, ERI-2006-2101/June 2021.
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    In another recent development, URENCO USA provided a notice to the 
NRC in April 2021 of its intent to amend the URENCO USA license to 
increase the enrichment level up to 10 wt. % U-235. Submittal of the 
initial license amendment request is expected later in 2021. URENCO USA 
expects to have capability to deliver HALEU up to 10 wt. % U-235 in 
2024. URENCO USA also has longer term plans to produce up to 19.75 wt. 
% U-235.\9\
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    \9\ High-Assay LEU, Urenco, from an analysis prepared by Energy 
Resources International, Inc. (ERI), Nuclear Fuel Cycle Supply and 
Price Report, ERI-2006-2101/June 2021.
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    However, the relatively small amounts of material covered by this 
Determination have no impact on capital improvement plans and 
development of future facilities including mines, conversion 
facilities, and enrichment plants.

5. Long-Term Viability and Health of the Industry

    There is currently no commercial supplier of HALEU in the United 
States. Therefore, there is no long-term industry impact to assess. As 
noted above, DOE is working with Centrus to establish a technology base 
which could provide greater amounts of HALEU if commercialized. Long 
term impacts of DOE material provided to the market will be assessable 
when Centrus or another HALEU enricher are closer to entering the 
nuclear fuel market.

6. Russian HEU Agreement and Russian Suspension Agreement

    The Russian HEU Agreement ended in December 2013. The Russian 
Suspension Agreement (``Suspension Agreement'') was extended on October 
5, 2020 (85 FR 64112) and remains in force through 2040 with annual 
export limits on Russian enriched uranium product sold to U.S. 
utilities at commercially available assays (e.g., 5 wt. % U-235) 
through FY2027 (85 FR 64112).\10\ The Suspension Agreement allows for 
the sale of up to the following amounts of U-235 per year in 2021, 
2022, and 2023 respectively: 26,254 kg, 21,543 kg, and 25,471 kg. The 
relatively small amount of material covered by this Determination is 
minimal compared to domestic needs for LEU and imports from the Russian 
Federation.
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    \10\ 2020 Amendment to the Agreement Suspending the Antidumping 
Investigation on Uranium From the Russian Federation, Federal 
Register/Vol. 85, No. 197/Friday, October 9, 2020/Notices https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/09/2020-22431/2020-amendment-to-the-agreement-suspending-the-antidumping-investigation-on-uranium-from-the-russian.
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IV. Conclusion

    With respect to the six factors listed above to assess market 
impacts:
    1. The relatively small amounts of material covered by this 
Determination have no impact on the price of HALEU, for which there is 
currently no commercial market price.
    2. There are new developments in the industry, but licensing and 
production timelines will not be impacted in the timeframe for this 
Determination.
    3. The relatively small amounts of material covered by this 
Determination have no impact on employment levels in the mining, 
conversion, or enrichment industries.
    4. New market developments will not mature during this 
Determination period to a point where the market could be impacted by 
DOE sales or leases.
    5. The relatively small amounts of material covered by this 
Determination have no impact on the long-term viability and health of 
the mining, conversion, and enrichment industries.
    6. The Russian HEU Agreement and Russian Suspension Agreement are 
not factors because there is no HALEU currently being imported from 
Russia to the United States.
    Thus, DOE concludes that the sale, lease, or transfer of up to 750 
kg of HALEU per calendar year to support the research, development, and 
production of Mo-99 and other isotopes will not have an adverse 
material impact on the domestic uranium mining, conversion, or 
enrichment industry, taking into account the ended Russian HEU 
Agreement and extended Russian Suspension Agreement.

[FR Doc. 2022-07667 Filed 4-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P