The United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) was a diversified nuclear mining, development, and applications company based out of the United States. Formed in 1961 as a joint venture between the Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation, the Mallinckrodt Corporation of America, and the Nuclear Development Corporation of America, the company is most well known today as the company behind the Church Rock uranium mill spill. In 1996 the company was acquired by General Electric, and remains to oversee the decommissioning of its former sites.
History
The United Nuclear Corporation was formed in 1961 to oversee its founding partner's existing nuclear projects and take advantage of the growing nuclear market in the context of the cold war. At formation, UNC began managing the Hematite, Missouri Production Plant and the New Haven Naval Products Plant previously owned by Mallinckrodt and Olin respectively.
That year, the company announced the development of a nuclear "fast burst reactor" designed for use in research contexts. Later known as the Health Physics Research Reactor and located in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the reactor was completed on 31 May 1963. It was the first of its kind to depart from an unalloyed uranium metal assembly.
The company purchased its first uranium mill, Ambrosia Lake, in 1963, and built a nuclear fuel recycling plant in 1964. The company also experienced its first nuclear incident that year when an operator at its recycling plant was killed by a criticality incident. In 1965 UNC won a contract from the Atomic Energy Commission to operate the reactor and fuel fabrication facilities at the AEC's plant. The company also attempted to merge with Pan American Sulphur, however the deal never came to fruition. The next year, in 1966, Cities Services Co attempted to enter the nuclear market through purchasing UNC, however, yet again, the deal was terminated.
On 13 February 1968 the company became publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange, although the company had been an OTC stock before then. Shortly after, in June of that year, Combustion Engineering purchased 22% of UNC despite a majority of the UNC board indicating their opposition. In response, UNC brought an antitrust suit against CE and the company was forced to divest themselves of the stock.
During the 1970s the company saw a large expansion as it opened its Church Rock uranium mill in 1977 and moved to a new, larger Naval Products plant in Montville. In 1971, the company expanded into coal mining with the purchase of Plateau Mining. The company also entered a partnership with Gulf Oil to form the Gulf United Nuclear Fuels Corporation, although the company sold its interest to Gulf in 1973. By 1978 the company was the nation's largest independent producer of uranium. The next year, 1979, saw the company's second nuclear incident, when a dam at their Church Rock mine broke, leaking radioactive waste into a tributary of the Puerco River.
In 1984, following the decline of the uranium industry near the end of the cold war, the United Nuclear Corporation rebranded to "UNC" and transitioned over the next decade into a business aviation and jet engine service provider. With the purchase of Garrett Aviation Services in 1996, UNC controlled 52% of the business aviation services market and saw annual revenues of close to $1 billion. The next year, in 1997, General Electric acquired the company and its debts for $330 million, with The Carlyle Group purchasing its military contract services division, UNC Aviation Services.
Facilities
Ambrosia Lake Uranium Mill
Ambrosia Lake was a uranium mine and mill built in 1957 and operated by the Phillips Petroleum Company until it was purchased by UNC in 1963. Shortly after, UNC ceased milling operations at the site, although they retained ownership of the property.