The portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant ports in southcentral ohio was first used to produce enriched uranium for national defense programs. Portsmouth environmental cleanup department of energy. The kentucky research consortium for energy and environment identifies problems and offers real scientific solutions for the cleanup of the paducah gaseous diffusion plant and the surrounding area. Paducah gaseous diffusion plant pgdp kentucky energy. On february 24, 2004, the nuclear regulatory commission has issued a license to the u. Calvin parker, one of at least nine former guards with prostate cancer, is on the far left in the front row. Sites chosen for uranium enrichment for national security applications in the early 1950s the sites are cold war facilities that are nearing or at the end of their lifecycle. Energy department extends contract for cleanup of portsmouth gaseous diffusion enrichment plant on march 28, 2016, the u. Three gaseous diffusion plants gdp conducted uranium enrichment activities in portsmouth, oh, paducah, kentucky, and oak ridge, tennessee. The portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant is a facility located in scioto township, pike county, ohio, just south of piketon, ohio that previously produced enriched uranium, including weaponsgrade uranium, for the united states atomic energy program and u. Piketon plant cleanup meetings in november 94 country wkkj. Gaseous diffusion plant gdp operations generated hazardous, radioactive, mixed hazardous and radioactive, and. The paducah gaseous diffusion plant pgdp has been enriching uranium for over 6 decades.
Federal funding secured for continued cleanup of former portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant. Hotels near portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant, chillicothe. The portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant, or the aplant as the locals refer to it, was constructed by the united states atomic energy commission to provide enriched uranium for the nations nuclear defense system and later for use in commercial nuclear power reactors. Theyre seeking damages and medical monitoring through the suit against companies involved in work at the site. Longterm cleanup of the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant near piketon, in south central ohio will. Download materials license snm7003 pdf, adams accession no. Portsmouth site profile energy communities alliance. Atomic energy commission aec selected scioto township, a rural area occupied by familyowned farms, as the site for a new gaseous diffusion plant to produce highly enriched uranium, u235, for use in military reactors and nuclear weapons production. Workers clean up following the march 1978 rupture of a 14ton cylinder of. More than five decades of uranium enrichment operations at the former portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant has generated millions of cubic yards of waste and resulted in soil, groundwater, and surface water contamination within the plant s 3,714acre boundary.
Doe assumes the plant referred to in the comment is the nickel powder processing plant. Funding has been secured to continue clean up at the former portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant, but thats not easing the fears of residents. The ohio environmental protection agency ohio epa and the u. Cleanup timeline for the department of energys doe. The x333 building housed the largest of the enrichment process equipment. Usec shuts down paducah gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment plant. There is the potential for a nuclear criticality accident with enriched material, a wellrecognized safety problem. More than five decades of uranium enrichment operations at the former portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant has generated millions of cubic yards of waste and resulted in soil, groundwater, and surface water contamination within the plants 3,714acre boundary. Oct 10, 2016 we committed to fluor that our union would do whatever was needed to work together to obtain that funding. Lewis wallace nuclear cleanup work sustains ailing ohio town. Mar 03, 2020 pppos paducah, portsmouth and lexington sites will continue essential minimum critical operations until further notice. Nuclear weapons plants are killing the people who once. Enrichment corporation, the site continued to produce enriched uranium to fuel commercial nuclear power plants until operations ceased in 2001. Uranium enrichment operations began in 1952 and ceased in 2001.
Ports was one of three large gaseous diffusion plants initially constructed to produce enriched uranium to support the nations nuclear weapons program and later enriched uranium used by commercial nuclear reactors. The eight named defendants are contractors who either carried out enrichment or cleanup operations at the portsmouth site. Part of this plant was disposed in the x749a classified landfill in 1979 source. Doe to transfer 80 acres at former portsmouth diffusion plant. Uranium enrichmentfuel fabrication decommissioning. Portsmouth process buildings and complex facilities decontamination and. Much of the uranium deposits to be removed from the u. Portsmouth plant history aerial view of the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant uranium enrichment began in the early 1940s as a u. The portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant, or the a plant as the locals refer to it, was constructed by the united states atomic energy commission to provide enriched uranium for the nations nuclear defense system and later for use in commercial nuclear power reactors. Department of energys doe contractor for the decontamination and decommissioning of the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant. The paducah gaseous diffusion plant pgdp is a facility located in mccracken county, kentucky, near paducah, kentucky that produced enriched uranium 195220. Lu 689, which represents workers at portsmouth, joins with the community, our international and elected officials each year to lobby for cleanup money from the doe and congress. The cancer cluster of piketon, ohio al jazeera america. We offer the closest hotels with 247 social support.
Please note that as part of the procedures and processes of the advisory boards work groups, several kinds of predecisional documents may be developed. Department of energys doe contractor for the decontamination and decommissioning of the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant in piketon, ohio. Biological and water quality study of the portsmouth gaseous. Piketon plant cleanup meetings in november by newsroom nov 6, 2019 the u. Paducah gaseous diffusion plant cleanup, research and solutions. Environmental impacts occurred at the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant during operations from 19542001. Department of energy portsmouth site will be hosting a series of four community open houses this month to discuss the process of waste disposal from the upcoming demolition of the former gaseous diffusion plant. Download report of the commonwealth of kentuckys task. The portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant was constructed from 195256. Plant occupies approximately 1,200 acres of a 3,777acre federal site. In 2001, enrichment activities were transferred to the paducah gaseous diffusion plant in paducah, kentucky and portsmouth began to operate in coldstandby condition. Piketon, ohio a patch of land in the hills of rural pike county, ohio, hardly looks as if it played a key role in the cold war. The pgdp lies within approximately 740 fenced acreage, 3 miles south of the ohio river. The view from a hill near the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant.
Paducah gaseous diffusion plant cleanup, research and. In march, brown urged senate appropriators to fully fund the project in the senate appropriations bill. The portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant, or the aplant as the locals refer to it. Department of energy will again offer public tours of the former portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant in pike county, ohio, beginning april 18. Cleanup of the former portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant in piketon is. Funding has been secured to continue clean up at the former portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant, but that. Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant cleanup funded 94. Piketon portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant is the only site that has never had a citizens advisory board cab. Workers at piketon will also receive the necessary funding to maintain workforce levels and keep the cleanup atpace.
But as politicians dueled on the world stage, workers at the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant south of piketon toiled away producing weaponsgrade uranium for the united states military. Affordable cleanup opportunities for cost reduction in. Decades of uranium enrichment and support activities at the portsmouth site required the use of a number of standard and specialized industrial chemicals and materials. Nuclear cleanup work sustains ailing ohio town marketplace.
Piketon cleanup and contaminated remains of huntington plant. Piketon cleanup riddled with problems, gao watchdog agency says. Jul, 2015 doe assumes the plant referred to in the comment is the nickel powder processing plant. Uranium enrichment operations began in 1954 and ceased in 2001. Remediation efforts began well before the uranium enrichment operations ceased in 2001. Draft environmental statement, author pennington, w. The portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant is located in south central ohio, approximately 32 kilometers 22 miles north of portsmouth, ohio, and 112 kilometers 70 miles south of columbus, ohio in. Home portsmouth site portsmouth environmental cleanup portsmouth cleanup progress. Budget cuts could force layoffs and slow the cleanup of the former portsmouth gaseous diffusion. Since 1988, doe has taken steps to clean up soil and groundwater contamination. A polluted former uranium enrichment plant in piketon closed years ago but its. Jun 04, 2019 plaintiffs say the negligence dates back to 1993, over a sevenmile radius from the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant, which at one time produced uranium.
Uranium enrichment current issues usec paducah and portsmouth plants, usa. Usec portsmouth american centrifuge plant project, usa. Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant fact sheet ncsl. Home portsmouth site portsmouth environmental cleanup. Portsmouth paducah project office pppo technical support. Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant united states nuclear forces. Jun 01, 2019 several residents are suing over contamination from the site of the former portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant in piketon and construction of a wastedisposal facility there. Development of nf3 deposit removal technology for the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant. The plant was one of three large gaseous diffusion plants in the united states initially constructed to produce enriched uranium to support the nations nuclear weapons program and u. The special response team at the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant in piketon, ohio, in the mid1980s. In an arrangement made between the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant and the ohio valley electric corporation ovec, the x533 electrical switchyard complex was one of two high voltage switchyards that together provided up to 2,200 megawatts of power. Pdf development of nf3 deposit removal technology for the.
Need a hotel near portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant. Welcome to four rivers nuclear partnership four rivers. Dec 04, 2015 nuclear cleanup work sustains ailing ohio town. Doe pursued gas centrifuge enrichment technology from 1960 to 1985 as an advanced technology to replace gaseous diffusion. Usec to construct and operate a uranium enrichment test and demonstration facility at the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant site in piketon, ohio. Piketon residents suit claims contamination from uranium. Jul 28, 2016 politics doom centrifuge plant in piketon. Uranium enrichmentfuel fabrication decommissioning issues. Dec 11, 2015 the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plantin piketon, ohio, about 25 miles north of the ohio river city of portsmouthwas built by the u. Department of energys former gaseous diffusion plant. Navy, and later enriched uranium for use by commercial nuclear reactors. Portman, brown and wenstrup push for piketon cleanup.
The portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant, along with two sister plants in kentucky and tennessee, produced all the nuclear material for our nations. The pgdp was in operation from september 1952 to june 20 and was operated historically for national defense purposes until 1964, after which it produced fuelgrade uranium used to generate electricity in nuclear reactors. The portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant at piketon, ohio, was built from 1952 to 1956. Previously, from 1943 to 1945, the site housed the kentucky ordinance works kow, a world war ii ammunition plant. Federal funding secured for continued cleanup of former. Gaseous diffusion plant gdp operations generated hazardous, radioactive, mixed hazardous and radioactive, and nonchemical sanitary wastes. Atomic energy commission and began operation in 1954. In coldstandby, the portsmouth plant was kept in a ready condition in which operations could be resumed in a period of 1824 months if the need arose.
Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant gdp was built near. The enrichment program was eventually transferred to the atomic energy commission aec, and the nations first gaseous diffusion plant, k25. Aug 27, 2015 in wake of warn notices at the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant in piketon, brown calls on administration, senate appropriators to provide full funding for the plant brown has been a longtime champion for workers at the plant. The portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant site is located in south central ohio. The program was to clean up the old gaseous diffusion enrichment plants in tennessee, kentucky, and. Portsmouth decontamination and decommissioning record of.
But you can send us an email and well get back to you, asap. As the department of energy doe cleanup contractor, fluorbwxt is cleaning up environmental media e. Located south of piketon, on 3,714 acres leased to the u. Neighbors of the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant sued plant owner divested atomic corp.
Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant site information. Cold standby program at the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant, audit report, u. Closed paducah gaseous diffusion enrichment plant returned to doe for. Federal funding secured for continued cleanup of former portsmouth. Enriched uranium from the portsmouth site was used for national security applications and to fuel the nations commercial nuclear power plants. Our investigation found toxins at former uranium enrichment plant. Nov 08, 2019 several residents sued the companies over contamination from the site of the former portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant in piketon and construction of a wastedisposal facility there. Only a small amount of ru was fed directly at the portsmouth gaseous diffusion. Jan 24, 2017 this feature is not available right now. Four rivers nuclear partnership employees not identified to support the current operational status should not return to work on april 7th as previously directed. We committed to fluor that our union would do whatever was needed to work together to obtain that funding. Department of energy has announced its public tour schedule for the paducah gaseous diffusion plant and the sites cleanup operations. Piketon aplant contractors sued over zahns corner school. Regulatory documents pertaining to the environmental cleanup of the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant site.
Radiation levels next to the plant have been trending downward, data. The final unit was turned over on november 4, 1955. Norm and betty jo anderson have lived in piketon since the mid1950s, when norm started working at the portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant. Uranium enrichment current issues usec paducah and. The portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant ports is located in pike county, ohio, in southern central ohio. Portsmouth gaseous diffusion enrichment plant ohio areva np inc. Department of energy doe exercised its option to extend the current decontamination and decommissioning work on the former portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant in piketon, ohio, for an additional 30 months, through september 2018. Piketon residents see a step forward in portsmouth. It does not all fit in a laptop bag, the following indicates a large carbon footprint, and that is the least of it. Department of energys doe paducah gaseous diffusion plant pgdp is located 15 miles west of paducah, ky. Portsmouth gaseous diffusion plant veolia nuclear solutions.
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