METROPOLIS, Ill. — Honeywell officials are saying little about it and investigators are saying less, but a federal grand jury reportedly is probing apparent problems with hazardous waste storage at the company’s Metropolis Works Plant.

The industrial facility on the outskirts of Metropolis manufactures a line of fluorine products, including uranium hexafluoride, UF6, for nuclear fuel. It was in a required financial disclosure — a 10-K report to the Securities and Exchange Commission — that Honeywell divulged that storage of some byproducts of UF6 production is being examined by the U.S. Department of Justice to assess whether it meets federal environmental requirements.

Subscription needed to see the full article

– END –

Note:

Honeywell’s Metropolis Works

The Metropolis Works Plant (MTW) is owned by Honeywell and operated by Honeywell’s Specialty Materials division which deals in a variety of high-performance materials, including nylon, polyethylene, fluorine and electronic materials.

Honeywell-MTW manufactures a number of fluorine products including:

Uranium hexafluoride (UF6) for nuclear fuel
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) for electric utilities
Iodine pentafluoride (IF5) and antimony pentafluoride (SbF5) for stain and water resistance

Located in Metropolis, Illinois, Honeywell-MTW began operation in 1958 to satisfy a contract with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Following completion of the contract, the facility was mothballed in 1964. The facility underwent rehabilitation in 1967 and has operated as a private converter since 1968.