The reuse of decontaminated nickel in nickel-metal hydride batteries

The decontamination and decommissioning of Buildings K-33, K-31, and K-29 at the U.S. Department of Energy's K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee represents a unique metals recycling challenge. These buildings, used for uranium isotopic separation from the early 1950's through 1985, contain millions of pounds of contaminated nickel. As a precious metal, the price of nickel has had values from a low of $2.40 to a high of $6.28 over the past ten years. Gaseous Tennessee Contaminated with uranium and technetium in its present form, this nickel is not an asset as many believe, but rather a costly waste disposal liability. Using a patented process developed with Covofinish Company, Manufacturing Sciences Corporation has demonstrated the ability to remove the contamination from this valuable nickel to levels less than I bq./gr. Despite this near background level of contamination, the material will remain "bulk contaminated". To recover the asset value many believe this nickel has, it must be decontaminated and converted into high-value end products that bring new jobs and economic opportunity for the East Tennessee region.