As part of its environmental clean - up mission , the US Department of Energy has agreed to sell depleted uranium to Mitsubishi - Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment ( GLE ) for use in a new commercial uranium fuel production facility . The depleted uranium will be mined over a 40-year period and used to produce natural uranium to make fuel for civil nuclear reactors . “The sale contributes to two key Energy Department mission areas, to fulfil the federal government’s responsibility to manage the safe storage and disposal of nuclear materials and to enable nuclear power, America’s largest source of zero-carbon energy and an important enabler for reduced greenhouse gas emissions.” The proposed Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility will be built near the DOE 's gaseous diffusion plant in Kentucky , under a licence from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is expected to create 800 to 1,200 local jobs .
As part of its environmental clean - up mission , the US Department of Energy has agreed to sell depleted uranium to Mitsubishi - Hitachi Global Laser Enrichment ( GLE ) for use in a new commercial uranium fuel production facility . The depleted uranium will be mined over a 40-year period and used to produce natural uranium to make fuel for civil nuclear reactors . The proposed Paducah Laser Enrichment Facility will be built near the DOE 's gaseous diffusion plant in Kentucky , under a licence from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is expected to create 800 to 1,200 local jobs .