Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant
The Portsmouth site near Piketon, Ohio, enriched uranium by gaseous diffusion and is now undergoing decontamination and decommissioning. Coverage tracks process building demolition, the on-site waste disposal facility, groundwater remediation, cleanup contracts, and the site’s reindustrialization for future missions.
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Wrap Up: Pike County Meeting Set to Discuss Portsmouth Contamination Sampling
The Scioto Valley Local School District in Ohio plans a community meeting Saturday to discuss radioactive contamination concerns at a middle school located about 2 miles from the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site. Zahn’s Corner Middle School will be tested for radioactive byproducts released into the air by the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant during past uranium […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Pike County Meeting Planned to Discuss Portsmouth Contamination Sampling
The Scioto Valley Local School District in Ohio plans a community meeting Saturday to discuss radioactive contamination concerns at a middle school located about 2 miles from the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site. Zahn’s Corner Middle School will be tested for radioactive byproducts released into the air by the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant during past uranium […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Correction
An article in the July 26 issue of Weapons Complex Monitor, “Dueling Findings by DOE, University at Odds Over Safety of Ohio School,” should have said Energy Department dust samples taken during Memorial Day weekend detected no radioactivity above naturally occurring levels at a school near the Portsmouth Site.
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Cleanup & Remediation
All Options ‘On the Table’ at Fluor After $555M Loss: CEO
“All options are on the table” at Fluor after the company’s $555 million loss in the second quarter of 2019, CEO Carlos Hernandez said Thursday. The government contractor is becoming more selective about what projects it bids on, and will consider asset sales and staff reductions, Hernandez said during a teleconference call with Wall Street […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Jacobs Rumored to be Interested in Acquiring Fluor
Three industry sources said recently Fluor’s government services group, if not the entire company, could be an acquisition target for another player in the nuclear cleanup industry, Jacobs Engineering. Such a deal could further consolidate Jacobs’ hold on the business of environmental remediation for the U.S. Department of Energy, following its December 2017 purchase of […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Dueling Findings by DOE, University at Odds Over Safety of Ohio School
Conclusions drawn by Northern Arizona University (NAU) researchers and the Department of Energy provide opposing views of whether a middle school near the Portsmouth Site in Ohio is safe for students to attend this fall. Local officials, citing analysis by NAU, said Thursday dust samples taken over Memorial Day weekend at Zahn’s Corner Middle School […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Jacobs Rumored to Be Interested in Buying Fluor
Three industry sources said recently Fluor’s government services group, if not the entire company, could be an acquisition target for another player in the nuclear cleanup industry, Jacobs. Such a deal could further consolidate Jacobs’ hold on the business of environmental remediation for the U.S. Department of Energy, following its December 2017 purchase of CH2M. […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus Energy CFO Departs Company
Marian Davis has resigned as chief financial officer of uranium fuel broker and enrichment technology company Centrus Energy Corp., according to a regulatory filing. Davis submitted her letter of resignation June 7 and was expected to leave the company after it filed its 10-Q report on quarterly earnings for the period ended June 30, according […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Ohio County Seeks Corrected DOE Air Sampling Reports From Portsmouth
The Pike County, Ohio, General Health District wants the U.S. Department of Energy to provide it with corrected air sampling reports from 2001 through 2017 after a federal official acknowledged last month a contractor under-reported potential contamination around the Portsmouth Site. Energy Undersecretary for Science Paul Dabbar said in a June 6 letter to Pike […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Centrus Begins Work on New Enrichment Cascade Under Letter Contract From DOE
Centrus Energy Corp. has started work on a next-generation uranium enrichment cascade that could give the company a leg up in the competition to build the next domestic enrichment facility for national defense, according to a document published Wednesday by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In a June 27 letter to the federal regulator, the […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Ohio County Seeking Corrected DOE Air Sampling Reports From Portsmouth
The Pike County, Ohio, General Health District wants the U.S. Department of Energy to provide it with corrected air sampling reports from 2001 through 2017 after a federal official acknowledged last month a contractor under-reported potential contamination around the Portsmouth Site. Energy Undersecretary for Science Paul Dabbar said in a June 6 letter to Pike […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Second Lawsuit Filed Over Portsmouth Site Contamination Claims
Two class-action lawsuits have now been filed against companies doing work at the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio since a nearby middle school was closed due to the potential spread of radioactive contamination. On June 28, two individuals who have long lived within 2 miles of the former gaseous diffusion plant filed suit against […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Ohio Recommends Local Firm for Portsmouth-Area Sampling
The Pike County, Ohio, General Health District recommends using Solutient Technologies for an independent third-party assessment of contamination levels around the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site. The program is an effort to allay public concerns that in may led to temporary closure of a middle school near the nuclear remediation operation. The Canton, Ohio-based firm is […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Another Lawsuit Filed Over Portsmouth Site Contamination Claims
Two class-action lawsuits have now been filed against companies doing work at the Energy Department’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio since a nearby middle school was closed due to the potential spread of radioactive contamination. On Friday, two individuals who have long lived within 2 miles of the former gaseous diffusion plant filed suit against Centrus […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Trio of DOE Tech Services Contractors Get Another Mini-Extension
The Department of Energy has extended three technical support services contracts through Sept. 30 for cleanup operations at its Paducah Site in Kentucky and Portsmouth Site in Ohio. Further details about the contract extensions were not immediately available. The department has indicated it could extend the contracts in three-month increments from April 1 to Dec. […]
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Contracts & Procurement
Energy Dept. Tech Services Contractors Get Another Extension
The Department of Energy has extended three technical support services contracts through Sept. 30 for cleanup operations at its Paducah Site in Kentucky and Portsmouth Site in Ohio. Further details about the contract extensions were not immediately available. The department has indicated it could extend the contracts in three-month increments from April 1 to Dec. […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Wrap Up: Ohio Senators Commit to Solutions for Portsmouth Off-Site Contamination
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said this week he has been unable to persuade the White House to take a direct interest in addressing findings of off-site radiological contamination near the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth cleanup project in his state. “I’ve begged the Department of Energy and I tried to get the president of the United […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Ohio Senators Commit to Solution for Portsmouth-Area Contamination
Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said this week he has been unable to persuade the White House to take a direct interest in addressing findings of off-site radiological contamination near the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth cleanup project in his state. “I’ve begged the Department of Energy and I tried to get the president of the United […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Error Led to Energy Department Under-Reporting of Portsmouth Rad Contamination
The Department of Energy acknowledged last week that a “minor miscalculation” by contractor Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth resulted in the under-reporting of doses of some radioactive contaminants for many years around the agency’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio. That said, the radioactive dose rates “remain far below” the point of being a health and safety concern, DOE Undersecretary […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Error Led to Energy Department Under-Reporting of Portsmouth Rad Contamination
The Department of Energy acknowledged last week that a “minor miscalculation” by contractor Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth resulted in the under-reporting of doses of some radioactive contaminants for many years around the agency’s Portsmouth Site in Ohio. That said, the radioactive dose rates “remain far below” the point of being a health and safety concern, Undersecretary of […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Portsmouth Advisory Board Won’t Seek to Reopen Decision on Waste Cell
For the second time in a year, an advisory board to the Department of Energy has rejected a member’s request to urge the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency to reopen its decision on the On-Site Waste Disposal Cell being built at the the Portsmouth Site in Ohio During a meeting Thursday, the Portsmouth Site Specific Advisory Board voted against […]
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Uranium Enrichment & Fuel Cycle
Energy Dept. Makes Case for Non-Compete Centrus Contract for HALEU
The Energy Department published its justification May 31 for contracting a Centrus Energy subsidiary to demonstrate high-assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) production without competitive bidding. The federal government wants to deploy a 16-machine cascade at the Portsmouth Site in Ohio to demonstrate production of 19.75% enriched uranium fuel by June 2022 using domestic technology. Centrus’ […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Departing Nuclear Cleanup Chief Praised by DOE Brass, Others
Supporters of the departing Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Anne Marie White say she refocused the Energy Department’s $7 billion nuclear cleanup office on completing work, rather than just safely maintaining 16 Cold War sites. But when Energy Secretary Rick Perry confirmed in a Friday email to DOE staff White has resigned effective June 14, […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Local Residents Sue DOE Contractors Over Portsmouth Contamination
A class-action lawsuit filed in federal court this week accuses current and former Energy Department contractors of failure to prevent radioactive contamination from spreading beyond the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The case was initiated by two families in Pike County, where the former uranium enrichment complex is located. One of the families has a child […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
DOE Nuclear Cleanup Chief Formally Resigns
Assistant Energy Secretary for Environmental Management Anne Marie White has resigned effective June 14. In an email obtained by Weapons Complex Monitor, Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette confirmed widespread industry chatter that White is leaving the agency after less than two years. The same email, distributed to a DOE mailing list, confirmed longtime […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Results of Latest DOE Sampling at Portsmouth-Area School Expected in June
It should take anywhere from two to four weeks to fully analyze the Energy Department’s new sampling for radioactive contaminants at a middle school near the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The results should be publicly provided as soon as they are available, Pike County Health Commissioner Matt Brewster said in a Wednesday email. A team […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Results of Latest DOE Sampling at Portsmouth-Area School Due Within Weeks
It should take anywhere from two to four weeks to fully analyze the Energy Department’s new sampling for radioactive contaminants at a middle school near the Portsmouth Site in Ohio. The results should be publicly provided as soon as they are available, Pike County Health Commissioner Matt Brewster said in a Wednesday email. A team […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Fluor Brings Back Retired CFO as Management Makeover Continues
Fluor is bringing back a retired chief financial officer, Michael Steuert, to permanently fill the role again as current CFO Bruce Stanski assists the Dallas-area company’s new chief executive with a strategic review. The international engineering, procurement, and construction company also announced Monday that Mark Fields will become the new president of its energy and […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Energy Dept. Team Collects Piketon Samples Over Holiday Weekend
A team of certified health physicists from the Energy Department spent the Memorial Day weekend in Piketon, Ohio, collecting air samples that will be analyzed for signs of radioactive contamination at a local middle school. Forty-four air samples were collected both inside and outside of Zahn’s Corner Middle School, about 2 miles from DOE’s Portsmouth […]
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Cleanup & Remediation
Locals Want Detail on New DOE Contamination Sampling Near Portsmouth
The U.S. Energy Department is conducting additional sampling to detect any radioactive contamination at a school near its Portsmouth Site in Pike County, Ohio, while local officials seek to be kept in the loop. Energy Secretary Rick Perry dispatched a technical team to do an assessment of the school, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported Saturday. Energy […]




