***NNSA NEWS***\
***U.S. Department of Energy\
National Nuclear Security Administration***\
***Y-12 Site Office News Release***

**September 9, 2008**

**News Media Contact**: Steven Wyatt, (865) 576-9918

**Y-12 ACHIEVES COMPLETION OF MAJOR CONSTRUCTION MILESTONE ON HIGHLY
ENRICHED URANIUM MATERIALS FACILITY PROJECT**

**OAK RIDGE, Tenn. \--** Officials at the Y-12 National Security Complex
have announced that the completion of the major construction milestone
on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility project.

The \$549 million facility \-- Y-12's ultra-secure uranium warehouse of
the future \-- will replace multiple aging facilities within a single
state-of-the-art storage facility.  It is the largest construction
project underway at the Oak Ridge, Tennessee facility in over 40 years.
HEUMF will play a major role in helping the National Nuclear Security
Administration accomplish its mission of protecting the nation's
inventory of highly enriched uranium (HEU), which is a vital national
security asset.

In addition to being a modern facility for receiving, shipping and
providing long-term storage of HEU, the HEUMF will be an integral part
of NNSA Administrator Tom D\'Agostino\'s plan to move from a Cold
War-era nuclear weapons complex to a 21st century national security
enterprise.  It will also be a key part of Y-­12's long-range
modernization plan.

Completion of this milestone allows B&W Y-12 Technical Services, Y-12's
management and operating contractor, to begin integrated systems testing
of a large number of HEUMF systems. Additional construction and system
installation will continue during this period followed by extensive
contractor and federal readiness reviews. Operations are anticipated to
begin in 2010.

"We are very happy to celebrate this remarkable achievement," said NNSA
Y-12 Site Manager Ted Sherry. "We are dedicated to achieving national
security goals as we transform the nuclear weapons complex to be
smaller, more efficient and more cost-effective."

"This new storage facility will eventually replace multiple aging
facilities and allow storage of HEU in one central location that
represents maximized physical security with minimal vulnerabilities and
operating costs," said B&W Y-12 President and General Manager Darrel
Kohlhorst. "This is truly an amazing team effort."

-more-

The HEUMF is a large (approximately 300 ft. by 475 ft.) primarily
reinforced concrete structure with adjoining equipment and
administrative area. It will provide storage capacity for thousands of
containers of material to be held in specially designed storage racks.
Construction of the HEUMF began in 2004.

Some distinguishing features associated with construction of the HEUMF
are the 92,000 cubic yards of concrete, 5,800 tons of rebar and more
than 1.5 million linear feet of wiring. The HEUMF is one of two
facilities whose joint mission will be to accomplish the storage and
processing of all enriched uranium in one small, centralized area.

Established by Congress in 2000, the NNSA is a separately organized
agency within the U.S. Department of Energy responsible for enhancing
national security through the military application of nuclear science. 
NNSA maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability and
performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear
testing; works to reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction;
provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and
responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad

**-NNSA-**

**NR-07-08**