Honeywell Uranium Hexafluoride Processing Facility, a uranium conversion facility, is located 3 km northwest of Metropolis, Illinois. The plant, Honeywell Specialty Chemicals in Metropolis, Illinois, has a nominal capacity of 12,700 metric tons of uranium per year. The plant manufactures a variety of products, but about 80 percent of the plant's work involves refining raw uranium ore into uranium hexafluoride. Across the Ohio river in Paducah, Kentucky, the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, can enrich the uranium hexafluoride into various levels for nuclear power or nuclear weapon purposes.[1] ConverDyn, a general partnership between affiliates of Honeywell and General Atomics, is the exclusive agent for conversion sales from the Metropolis Works.
Incidents
Site Area Emergency declaration
December 22, 2003 - Site Area Emergency
At 0245 CST on 12/22/03, a small release of Uranium hexafluoride occurred lasting approximately 45 minutes. At 0300 CST the licensee declared a Site Area Emergency, indicating failure of systems design to prevent risk to the public. All personnel were evacuated within a 1 mile radius. About 25 people offsite were temporarily evacuated and some 75 persons remained sheltered for a time in their homes. Licensee notified State of Illinois. NRC was notified at 0400 CST.
The licensee terminated the Site Area Emergency at 0650 CST on 12/22/03.[2]
Lockout of United Steelworkers local 7-669
June 28, 2010 - Lockout
At the conclusion of regularly scheduled collective bargaining between Honeywell and United Steelworkers local 7-669, the largest resident union at the Metropolis facility, the company locked out union members when they refused to ratify a new agreement with several concessions. The lockout lasted until August 1, 2011, when the union ratified a new three year collective bargaining agreement.[3]
References
- ^ Metropolis facility details from GlobalSecurity.org
- ^ Metropolis Site Area Emergency
- ^ Lech, Stephen. "www.usw7-669.com===Lockout of United Steelworkers local 7-669===".
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External links
- ConverDyn's corporate website
- Official facility website
- Dan Frosch, "In Superman's Hometown, a Labor Dispute Over Health", The New York Times, August 8, 2010.