Residents in Washington County, Tennessee, will see an expansion from a nearby depleted uranium facility in rural Northeast Tennessee.
Some 10,000 people signed a petition opposing the expansion of the nearby depleted uranium site in Jonesborough, the state’s oldest town. They made neon yellow shirts displaying their plea for “no uranium contamination in East Tennessee.” They filled three courtrooms during Monday night’s meeting to see if the Washington County Commission would vote for or against BWX Technologies’ 56-acre rezoning request to take the company’s property from agricultural and residential zonings to high-impact use.
The Washington County Commission approved the company’s request in a 10-5 vote, just meeting the required 10 votes for approval.
BWX Technology’s rezoning is part of its expansion plan to fulfill its $1.6 billion contract with the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration to provide high-purity depleted uranium, which is used for nuclear weapons technology, tank armor and projectiles.
The company is the only U.S. supplier of high-purity depleted uranium to the federal government.