Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant--Piketon, Ohio

Site Description:
The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) is owned by the Department of Energy (DOE). PORTS was operated by DOE and managed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., until July 1, 1993. In 1992 Congress passed legislation amending the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 to create the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC). A government corporation similar to the Tennessee Valley Authority, to operate the uranium enrichment enterprise in the United States. The new corporation began operation on July 1, 1993. In accordance with the Act, USEC leased all production facilities at PORTS and its sister plant at Paducah, Kentucky, from DOE. DOE retained operational control of all waste storage and handling facilities as well as all sites undergoing environmental restoration.
The PORTS site is located in sparsely populated, rural Pike County, Ohio, on a 16.2-km (6.3-mile) site about 1.6 km (1 mile) east of the Scioto River Valley at an elevation of approximately 36.6 m (120 ft) above the Scioto River floodplain. The terrain surrounding the plant, except for the Scioto River floodplain, consists of marginal farmland and densely forested hills. The Scioto River floodplain is farmed extensively, particularly with grain crops.

Pike County has a generally moderate climate. Winters in Pike County are moderately cold, and summers are moderately warm and humid. The precipitation is usually well distributed with fall being the driest season. Prevailing winds at the site are out of the southwest to south. Average wind speeds are about 5 mph (8 km/h) although winds of up to 75 mph (120 km/h) have been recorded at the plantsite. Usually high winds are associated with thunderstorms that occur in spring and summer. Southern Ohio is within the midwestern tornado belt although no tornados have struck the plantsite to date.

Pike County has approximately 23,000 resident. Scattered rural development is typical; however, the county contains numerous small villages such as Piketon, Wakefield, and Jasper, which lie within a few kilometers of the plant. The county's largest community, Waverly, is about 19 km (12 miles) north of the plantsite and has a population of approximately 5,100 residents. Additional population centers within 80 km (50 miles) of the plant are Portsmouth (population 25,500), Chillicothe (population 23,420), and Jackson (population 6,675). The total population of the area lying within an 80-km (50-mile) radius of the plant is approximately 600,000.

USEC is responsible for the principal site process and support operations. The principal site process is the separation of uranium isotopes through gaseous diffusion. Support operations include the feed and withdrawal of material from the primary process, treatment of water for both potable and cooling purposes, steam generation for heating purposes, decontamination of equipment removed from the process for maintenance or replacement, recovery of uranium from various waste materials, and treatment of industrial wastes generated onsite. DOE is responsible for the decontamination activities in the X-326 building, X-326 "L-Cage" and its glovebox, X-345 high assay sampling area (HASA), X-744G glovebox and site remediation activities. The emissions from the DOE sources listed in this report represent 13% of the air emissions from the USEC Source one (X-326 Top Purge, Side Purge and E-jet vents), 13% of the emissions from the Seal Exhaust (SE) 6 (which is part of USEC Source two), and all of the emissions from DOE sources one (X-326 SE 5 Vent) and two (X-345 HASA).