Oak Ridge铀-233处理超额完成：一年处理62罐 累计清掉逾78%库存
美国能源部（DOE）环境管理办公室（EM）2026年11月3日宣布，位于田纳西州 Oak Ridge 的清理团队在刚结束的财年里共处理62罐铀-233、备妥供安全运输与处置，超过原定50罐目标；这是 Oak Ridge 国家实验室（ORNL）优先级最高的清理项目。
铀-233是上世纪50至60年代为核反应堆潜在用途制造的特殊核材料，后被证明不可行，在 ORNL 已存放数十年。承包商 Isotek 负责消除这批全国库存。项目经理 Sarah Schaefer 表示，尽管处理这种特殊核材料技术挑战重重，Isotek 团队持续找到解决方案与提效办法，年年取得显著进展。
随着处理推进，难度也在上升：部分剩余库存的含量超过处理设施允许上限，Isotek 设计出在储存设施内先行分段罐体的创新方案，省下1.75亿美元并避免延误；另有部分材料超铀放射性较高，需先做额外稀释混合才能运出处置。工艺经理 Shanna Veilleux 表示，团队已调整对超铀材料的处理办法，增加采样与详细技术审查，以在不损害安全与运行可靠性的前提下作出有依据的决定。
迄今，Isotek 已处理并处置 ORNL 原始铀-233库存的78%以上，运出处置的固化废物超过70万磅。处理过程中，团队还从材料中提取极稀有的医用同位素钍-229，已提取逾24克、使全球供应量增加逾2,000%；该同位素正用于开发处于临床试验阶段的靶向癌症疗法。环境管理办公室与 Isotek 近期还安装了一座新的分析实验室，以加快铀-233废物处置并增加钍-229交付。
（来源：美国能源部）
Oak Ridge Exceeds Uranium-233 Goal: 62 Canisters Processed in One Year, Over 78% of Inventory Cleared
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Environmental Management announced on November 3, 2026, that crews at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, processed 62 canisters of uranium-233 for safe transportation and disposal during the fiscal year that recently ended, surpassing the 50-canister goal as they advance the highest priority cleanup project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).
Uranium-233 is a special nuclear material created in the 1950s and 1960s for potential use in nuclear reactors but proved unviable, and it has remained in storage at ORNL for decades. Contractor Isotek is working to eliminate the nation's inventory of the material. Sarah Schaefer, project manager for Isotek, said that despite the technical challenges of processing this special nuclear material, the Isotek team consistently finds solutions, efficiencies and workarounds to deliver significant progress annually.
As processing has progressed, it has presented more challenges. A portion of the remaining inventory exceeds limits allowed in the processing facility, and Isotek designed an innovative solution to segment the canisters in the storage facility before moving them for processing, saving the project $175 million and preventing delays. Some material is higher in transuranic activity, requiring additional downblending before it can be shipped for disposal. Isotek Process Manager Shanna Veilleux said the team has adapted its approach by incorporating additional sampling and detailed technical reviews to support processing decisions without compromising safety or operational reliability.
To date, Isotek has processed and disposed of over 78% of the original uranium-233 inventory stored at ORNL, and workers have transported over 700,000 pounds of processed solidified waste for disposal. Crews are also extracting thorium-229, an extremely rare medical isotope used to develop targeted cancer treatments currently in clinical trials; they have extracted over 24 grams, boosting the world's supply by more than 2,000%. The Office of Environmental Management and Isotek recently installed a new analytical laboratory that will accelerate uranium-233 waste disposition and increase thorium-229 deliveries.
(Source: U.S. Department of Energy)
来源：美国能源部
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：工作人员在 Oak Ridge 的重屏蔽热室中处理铀-233材料。照片：美国能源部（DOE），公共领域。 / Photo: Workers process uranium-233 material in heavily shielded hot cells at Oak Ridge. Photo by the U.S. Department of Energy, public domain.
GSM Global · 本篇英文版 English edition of this story
