Washington (Platts)--31May2007

USEC Inc. began construction of a uranium enrichment plant in Piketon,
Ohio, the company said May 31. 
     USEC President/CEO John Welch called the work on the American Centrifuge
Plant an "important step toward deploying US developed centrifuge technology
to provide enriched uranium fuel for nuclear power plants." USEC said it
expects to operate a lead cascade of centrifuge machines at the new facility
later this year, to begin commercial operations in late 2009, and to further
expand plant operations by 2012. USEC now operates the only uranium enrichment
facility in the US. That facility is based on an older technology.