SEVERE STORM DAMAGES PADUCAH PLANT

A severe storm in western Kentucky Sunday activated an emergency alert at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and caused external damage to buildings there, according to plant contractor USEC. “The damage was centered around one of the plant’s four enrichment production buildings, adjacent cooling towers and a nearby electrical switchyard,” according to a USEC statement. The storm caused siding panels to blow off the production building. There were no injuries at the site and initial monitoring did not indicate a release of material.

USEC adds, “Since Paducah ceased enrichment in June, there were only limited operations ongoing to repackage inventory. Those are on a stand down at the moment while our teams assess the damage, but were not directly affected by the storm.”