Duratek
Encyclopedia
EnergySolutions is one of the world’s largest processors of low level waste
(LLW), and is the largest nuclear waste company in the United States. EnergySolutions is a publicly traded company NYSE: ES) based in Salt Lake City, Utah
, although it has operations in 40 states. Steve Creamer is the founder and former CEO of the company, which formed from the merger of four waste disposal companies: Envirocare, Scientech D&D, BNG America, and Duratek. The company took over several Magnox
atomic plants from British Nuclear Fuels plc
in United Kingdom
on June 7, 2007.
EnergySolutions owns and operates a licensed landfill to dispose of radioactive waste approximately 60 miles west of Salt Lake City, UT in Tooele County, Utah
and operates another in Barnwell County, South Carolina
. The company also possesses technology to convert waste into alternative material such as durable glass, and is contracted by the United States Department of Energy
to assist in waste conversion efforts.
The company holds the naming rights to EnergySolutions Arena
.
purchased the Connecticut
-based Scientech D&D division in October 2005. On February 2, 2006, Envirocare announced the $90 million purchase of BNG America a subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels
(BNFL) based in Virginia
. The merged company would change its name to EnergySolutions, with corporate headquarters based in Salt Lake City, Utah
. On February 7, 2006, EnergySolutions announced it would buy Maryland
-based Duratek, a publicly-traded company
, for $396 million in an all-cash deal. The leveraged buyout
was financed by banks led by Citigroup
, effectively taking the company private.
After the acquisitions, EnergySolutions has 2,500 employees in 40 states with an annual revenue of $280 million. Additionally, EnergySolutions owns two of the nation's three commercial low-level nuclear-waste repositories, although its primary competitor, Waste Control Specialists
, hopes to build a fourth repository in Texas.
. It began operations in 1990 and was located in Clive, Utah.
Envirocare was founded by Iranian immigrant Khosrow Semnani in 1988. Semnani served as president of the company until May 1997, when Envirocare's largest customer—the Department of Energy
—requested that he step down in the wake of a bribery scandal. Semnani allegedly bribed Utah's Division of Radiation Control director, Larry B. Anderson, with $600,000 in cash, gifts, and gold coins over several years. Semnani alleged that he was extorted by Anderson, and the two sued each other in civil court. Semnani agreed to testify against Anderson in a plea bargain forcing him to pay a $100,000 fine for aiding in the preparation of a false tax return. Anderson was convicted to serve 30 months in federal prison on tax charges.
In mid-December 2004, Semnani sold Envirocare for an undisclosed sum. Steve Creamer became the company's new CEO. The deal was financed by private equity firms, led by Lindsay Goldberg & Bessemer of New York, Creamer Investments, and Peterson Partners both of Salt Lake City. Envirocare management promised to drop plans to bury hotter class B and C nuclear waste in Utah in deference to developing political opposition to the company, which was poised to ban the waste anyway. Envirocare's management and ownership was retained as it made the acquisitions to become EnergySolutions.
, Duratek was founded in 1983. In 1990, the company merged with General Technical Services (GTS); the resulting company was known as GTS Duratek. That year, the company formed a joint venture with another firm — Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc. — to build a commercial vitrification system.
In 1997, GTS Duratek acquired the Scientific Ecology Group
(SEG). In 2000, the company purchased the nuclear services business arm of Waste Management Inc. One year later, the company announced that it was dropping GTS from its name, and was once again known as Duratek.
Duratek was purchased by EnergySolutions at 25.7% premium over the February 7, 2006 stock price when the merger was announced.
EnergySolutions has also sought at various times for the State of Utah’s permission to blend, or dilute, currently accepted Class A low-level radioactive waste with more radioactive Class B and Class C wastes until it just meets the Class A waste levels its license allows per container at its Clive disposal site. Some estimate that this could increase Energy Solutions' Utah site current amount of 7,450 curies of radiation per annum (2010), to an additional 19,184 to 28,470 curies each year. The Division of Radiation Control of Utah is currently considering this measure to allow Class B and Class C waste into Utah. If allowed, this would make Utah, along with Texas, the only state in the nation to allow the importation of Class B and C radioactive wastes.
Low level waste
Low-Level Waste is a term used to describe nuclear waste that does not fit into the categorical definitions for high-level waste , spent nuclear fuel , transuranic waste , or certain byproduct materials known as 11e wastes, such as uranium mill tailings...
(LLW), and is the largest nuclear waste company in the United States. EnergySolutions is a publicly traded company NYSE: ES) based in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, although it has operations in 40 states. Steve Creamer is the founder and former CEO of the company, which formed from the merger of four waste disposal companies: Envirocare, Scientech D&D, BNG America, and Duratek. The company took over several Magnox
Magnox
Magnox is a now obsolete type of nuclear power reactor which was designed and is still in use in the United Kingdom, and was exported to other countries, both as a power plant, and, when operated accordingly, as a producer of plutonium for nuclear weapons...
atomic plants from British Nuclear Fuels plc
BNFL
British Nuclear Fuels Limited was a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It was a former manufacturer and transporter of nuclear fuel , ran reactors, generated and sold electricity, reprocessed and managed spent fuel , and decommissioned nuclear plants and other similar...
in United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
on June 7, 2007.
EnergySolutions owns and operates a licensed landfill to dispose of radioactive waste approximately 60 miles west of Salt Lake City, UT in Tooele County, Utah
Tooele County, Utah
Tooele County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000, the population was 40,735 and by 2005 was estimated at 51,311. Its county seat and largest city is Tooele....
and operates another in Barnwell County, South Carolina
Barnwell County, South Carolina
-History:The Barnwell District was created in 1798 from the southwestern portion of the Orangeburg District, along the Savannah River...
. The company also possesses technology to convert waste into alternative material such as durable glass, and is contracted by the United States Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
to assist in waste conversion efforts.
The company holds the naming rights to EnergySolutions Arena
EnergySolutions Arena
EnergySolutions Arena is an indoor arena, in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, owned by Jazz Basketball Investors, Inc., the estate of Larry H. Miller...
.
Creation of EnergySolutions
Envirocare of UtahUtah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
purchased the Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
-based Scientech D&D division in October 2005. On February 2, 2006, Envirocare announced the $90 million purchase of BNG America a subsidiary of British Nuclear Fuels
BNFL
British Nuclear Fuels Limited was a nuclear energy and fuels company owned by the UK Government. It was a former manufacturer and transporter of nuclear fuel , ran reactors, generated and sold electricity, reprocessed and managed spent fuel , and decommissioned nuclear plants and other similar...
(BNFL) based in Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. The merged company would change its name to EnergySolutions, with corporate headquarters based in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. On February 7, 2006, EnergySolutions announced it would buy Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
-based Duratek, a publicly-traded company
Public company
This is not the same as a Government-owned corporation.A public company or publicly traded company is a limited liability company that offers its securities for sale to the general public, typically through a stock exchange, or through market makers operating in over the counter markets...
, for $396 million in an all-cash deal. The leveraged buyout
Leveraged buyout
A leveraged buyout occurs when an investor, typically financial sponsor, acquires a controlling interest in a company's equity and where a significant percentage of the purchase price is financed through leverage...
was financed by banks led by Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
, effectively taking the company private.
After the acquisitions, EnergySolutions has 2,500 employees in 40 states with an annual revenue of $280 million. Additionally, EnergySolutions owns two of the nation's three commercial low-level nuclear-waste repositories, although its primary competitor, Waste Control Specialists
Waste Control Specialists
Waste Control Specialists is a treatment, storage, & disposal facility for radioactive, hazardous, and mixed wastes. The company, owned by Harold Simmons, is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
, hopes to build a fourth repository in Texas.
Envirocare
Envirocare (also called Envirocare of Utah, Inc.) was a company that disposed of Class A low level radioactive waste (LLRW) in an engineered landfillLandfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
. It began operations in 1990 and was located in Clive, Utah.
Envirocare was founded by Iranian immigrant Khosrow Semnani in 1988. Semnani served as president of the company until May 1997, when Envirocare's largest customer—the Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
—requested that he step down in the wake of a bribery scandal. Semnani allegedly bribed Utah's Division of Radiation Control director, Larry B. Anderson, with $600,000 in cash, gifts, and gold coins over several years. Semnani alleged that he was extorted by Anderson, and the two sued each other in civil court. Semnani agreed to testify against Anderson in a plea bargain forcing him to pay a $100,000 fine for aiding in the preparation of a false tax return. Anderson was convicted to serve 30 months in federal prison on tax charges.
In mid-December 2004, Semnani sold Envirocare for an undisclosed sum. Steve Creamer became the company's new CEO. The deal was financed by private equity firms, led by Lindsay Goldberg & Bessemer of New York, Creamer Investments, and Peterson Partners both of Salt Lake City. Envirocare management promised to drop plans to bury hotter class B and C nuclear waste in Utah in deference to developing political opposition to the company, which was poised to ban the waste anyway. Envirocare's management and ownership was retained as it made the acquisitions to become EnergySolutions.
Duratek
Based in Columbia, MarylandColumbia, Maryland
Columbia is a planned community that consists of ten self-contained villages, located in Howard County, Maryland, United States. It began with the idea that a city could enhance its residents' quality of life. Creator and developer James W. Rouse saw the new community in terms of human values, not...
, Duratek was founded in 1983. In 1990, the company merged with General Technical Services (GTS); the resulting company was known as GTS Duratek. That year, the company formed a joint venture with another firm — Chem-Nuclear Systems, Inc. — to build a commercial vitrification system.
In 1997, GTS Duratek acquired the Scientific Ecology Group
Scientific Ecology Group
Scientific Ecology Group, Inc. located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee was founded by H.W. Arrowsmith in 1985 . It quickly grew to become the leading radioactive waste processor in the United States employing 1,400 personnel at its largest . Treatment technologies included supercompaction, incineration,...
(SEG). In 2000, the company purchased the nuclear services business arm of Waste Management Inc. One year later, the company announced that it was dropping GTS from its name, and was once again known as Duratek.
Duratek was purchased by EnergySolutions at 25.7% premium over the February 7, 2006 stock price when the merger was announced.
Energy Solutions
Since its inception, Energy Solutions has brought primarily domestic, Class A nuclear waste to Utah's west desert. However, in 2009 it attempted to bring 20,000 tons of waste from Italy's shuttered nuclear power program through the ports of either Charleston, S.C., or New Orleans. After processing in Tennessee, about 1,600 tons would be disposed of in Utah. The importation attempt was eventually abandoned.EnergySolutions has also sought at various times for the State of Utah’s permission to blend, or dilute, currently accepted Class A low-level radioactive waste with more radioactive Class B and Class C wastes until it just meets the Class A waste levels its license allows per container at its Clive disposal site. Some estimate that this could increase Energy Solutions' Utah site current amount of 7,450 curies of radiation per annum (2010), to an additional 19,184 to 28,470 curies each year. The Division of Radiation Control of Utah is currently considering this measure to allow Class B and Class C waste into Utah. If allowed, this would make Utah, along with Texas, the only state in the nation to allow the importation of Class B and C radioactive wastes.