Commercial uranium enrichment company Urenco USA on Oct. 2 said it had received approval from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to begin producing low-enriched uranium plus (LEU+).
Urenco will begin enriching uranium up to 10 percent U-235 at its Eunice, New Mexico, gas centrifuge plant. LEU+ is commonly used as a fuel source for the majority of the world’s nearly 500 commercial nuclear power reactors. Highly enriched uranium—concentrations enriched to or greater than 20 percent—are used to power naval propulsion reactors in nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, the Department of Defense said. It’s also what’s used in nuclear weapons.
