Public tours are being offered again this year at the Department of Energy’s Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Ohio, the shuttered facility’s cleanup contractor announced Monday.
“We are pleased to continue these special tours for the public to get a close-up view of the former uranium enrichment facilities while they are being addressed under the Decontamination & Decommissioning (D&D) Project,” said Joel Bradburne, DOE Portsmouth Site lead, in a press release. “The plant in Piketon, Ohio was one of only three gaseous diffusion plants built in the United States in the early 1950s to serve our country’s defense and energy needs. It operated for nearly five decades and thousands of workers have passed through the security gates over the years.”
The facility enriched uranium for nuclear weapons during the Cold War, then for reactors, before closing in 2001. Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth is now charged with the plant’s decontamination and decommissioning.
Public tours have been offered since 2012, drawing more than 1,300 attendees in nearly five years, the press release says. This year’s tours will be offered on the following Saturdays: March 18, April 15, May 20, June 17, July 15, Aug. 19, Sept. 16, and Oct. 21.
The free three-hour tours are offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and advance registration is necessary. Up to 40 people can attend any tour, and at least 20 are required for the tour to be held. No one under age 18 will be allowed, and cameras, cell phones, and other recording devices are also not permitted.
For registration or additional information, contact Sandy Childers at (740) 897-2336 or [email protected]. Registrants will be asked to leave their name and a daytime telephone number so their participation in the tour can be confirmed. Anyone interested in attending the first tour must register by Friday, March 5.
