Press Releases

Perma-Fix Announces Successful Testing of its Patented In-Ground Separation Technology for Mercury Contaminated Soils

ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / April 5, 2019 / Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: PESI) (the "Company") today announced it has successfully completed initial laboratory tests for its new patented, passive separation technology for mercury-contaminated soils confirming the process can provide cost-effective, in-ground separation of mercury-contaminated soils.

As a passive system, the patented process differs from current separation technologies that require soil removal and onsite or offsite treatment. The new system operates inground by drawing the elemental mercury to a centralized collection point, at which time, the mercury can then be easily and cost-effectively extracted from the ground. As a result, the passive system has the potential to significantly lower total lifecycle remediation and treatment costs.

The tests were conducted on simulated western Tennessee soils containing various amounts of clay. The technology performed well over time and was able to recover significant quantities of metallic mercury. The work analyzed a variety of operating parameters. A larger bench scale unit is currently under development and is expected to be operational shortly.

Mercury is a significant neurological poison and has been used in a variety of chemical and nuclear processes, dating back to the Manhattan project. Past uses of mercury have resulted in significant contamination of a variety of sites, including the Oak Ridge Reservation in East Tennessee. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that tons of mercury exist within the soil and buildings at its defense plants including the Y-12 facility in Oak Ridge. Over 173 Superfund sites list mercury as a contaminant of concern in the soil.

Mark Duff, Chief Executive Officer, stated, "We're extremely pleased with the initial tests and performance of our mercury soil separation and removal system, which we believe could offer a very cost-effective method to extract significant quantities of mercury from contaminated sites, such as the Oak Ridge DOE reservation, at a fraction of the cost of conventional approaches including soil removal and treatment. This latest technology adds to our portfolio of treatment technologies and further illustrates our customer-centric approach to nuclear waste treatment."

About Perma-Fix Environmental Services

Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc. is a nuclear services company and leading provider of nuclear and mixed waste management services. The Company's nuclear waste services include management and treatment of radioactive and mixed waste for hospitals, research labs, and institutions, federal agencies, including the DOE, the Department of Defense (DOD), and the commercial nuclear industry. The Company's nuclear services group provides project management, waste management, environmental restoration, decontamination and decommissioning, new build construction, and radiological protection, safety and industrial hygiene capability to our clients. The Company operates three nuclear waste treatment facilities and provides nuclear services at DOE, DOD, and commercial facilities, nationwide.

Please visit us at http://www.perma-fix.com.

This press release contains "forward‑looking statements" which are based largely on the Company's expectations and are subject to various business risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the Company's control. Forward-looking statements generally are identifiable by use of the words such as "believe", "expects", "intends", "anticipate", "plan to", "estimates", "projects", and similar expressions. Forward‑looking statements include, but are not limited to: significantly lower total lifecycle remediation and treatment costs; and development and operation of larger bench scale. These forward‑looking statements are intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While the Company believes the expectations reflected in this news release are reasonable, it can give no assurance such expectations will prove to be correct. There are a variety of factors which could cause future outcomes to differ materially from those described in this release, including, without limitation, future economic conditions; industry conditions; competitive pressures; our ability to apply, commercialize, and market our new technologies; the government or such other party to a contract granted to us fails to abide by or comply with the contract or to deliver waste as anticipated under the contract; completion of construction projects on a timely basis; regulatory approvals; Congress provides continuing funding for the DOD's and DOE's remediation projects; ability to obtain new foreign and domestic remediation contracts; our ability to fund the commercialization of our technology; and the additional factors referred to under "Risk Factors" and "Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" of our 2018 Form 10-K. The Company makes no commitment to disclose any revisions to forward‑looking statements, or any facts, events or circumstances after the date hereof that bear upon forward‑looking statements.

Please visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.perma-fix.com.

David K. Waldman-US Investor Relations
Crescendo Communications, LLC
(212) 671-1021

Herbert Strauss-European Investor Relations
herbert@eu-ir.com
+43 316 296 316

SOURCE: Perma-Fix Environmental Services, Inc.

Released April 5, 2019