In June, Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership (FRNP) received the first of two option periods from the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) to continue deactivation and remediation work through June 19, 2025. The three-year contract is valued at approximately $394 million and will be used to further DOE’s cleanup mission at the Paducah site.
“FRNP appreciates DOE’s confidence in our team to continue making progress in deactivation and environmental remediation efforts at the Paducah Site,” FRNP Program Manager Myrna Redfield said. “I am especially proud of our workforce, whose daily commitment to safety and performance is the foundation for this award.
Since beginning work at the Paducah site in October 2017, FRNP has embarked on preparation of facilities for future demolition and is continuing to implement an effective and compliant environmental remediation program. To date, deactivation efforts centered on preparing facilities for future demolition have resulted in an approximately 99.6% reduction in power needs and 91% reduction in natural gas consumption. In addition, FRNP’s actions have reduced the site’s water usage by 94 million gallons per year, another notable achievement for the contractor.
Additionally, FRNP is focused on steps to identify and implement future actions to address major sources of offsite groundwater contamination discovered in 1988. Workers have also shipped approximately 2.8 million pounds of ozone-depleting R-114 refrigerant from the site and plans to continue shipments over the course of the three-year option period are in place.
“The team brings extensive collective experience from sites across the DOE complex, including Hanford , West Valley Demonstration Project, Idaho Cleanup Project and the Portsmouth Paducah Project Office,” FRNP Board of Directors Chairperson and Jacobs Vice President and General Manager for North American Nuclear David Blevins said. “We will continue putting safety first as we work to move Paducah’s cleanup mission forward.”
FRNP, led by Jacobs and joint venture partners Fluor and BWXT, was awarded the initial D&R contract at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) on May 25, 2017. The performance-based contract included a five-year base period, followed by option periods that could extend the contract up to 10 years.
Since 2017, approximately 65% of procurements have gone to small businesses, with many of those businesses located in Western Kentucky. FRNP has made small business investment a priority and will continue to make this a priority in the next three years.
The Paducah site is located on approximately 3,500 acres in Western Kentucky, 10 miles west of Paducah and 3.5 miles south of the Ohio River. The site was built in the 1950s to manufacture enriched uranium for military nuclear reactors and weapons development, and later to support the nation’s commercial nuclear power program. PGDP operations ceased in 2013 and the plant was returned to DOE in 2014.
