Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
Coordinates: 37°06′50″N 88°48′37″W / 37.11389°N 88.81028°W
The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant is a facility located in McCracken County, Kentucky, near Paducah, Kentucky, that produces enriched uranium, for nuclear power plants. The plant is now operated by United States Enrichment Corporation, a subsidiary of USEC Incorporated, a publicly traded corporation (NYSE: USU). It is the only operating uranium enrichment facility in the United States, apart from a pilot gas centrifuge installation at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, and URENCO's in Eunice, New Mexico. The Paducah plant produces low-enriched nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants.
The gaseous diffusion plant covers 750 acres (300 ha) of a 3,425 acres (1,386 ha) site. The four process buildings cover 74 acres (30 ha), and consume a peak electrical demand of 3,040 megawatts.[1]
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[edit] History
The former Kentucky Ordnance Works site was chosen from a candidate list of eight sites in 1950. The construction contractor was F.H. McGraw of Hartford, Connecticut, and the operating company was Union Carbide. The plant was opened in 1952 as a government-owned, contractor-operated facility, producing enriched uranium to fuel military reactors and for use in nuclear weapons. The mode of enrichment was the gaseous diffusion of uranium hexaflouride to separate the lighter fissile isotope, U-235, from the heavier non-fissile isotope, U-238. The Paducah plant originally produced low-enriched uranium, which was further refined at Portsmouth and the K-25 plant at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. From the 1960s the Portsmouth and Paducah plants were dedicated to uranium enrichment for nuclear power plants. In 1984 the operating contract was assumed by Martin Marietta Energy Systems. Lockheed Martin has operated the plant since the merger of Martin Marietta with Lockheed in 1995. From 2001, all USEC production has been consolidated at Paducah.[2][3]
The Paducah plant had a capacity of 11.3 million separative work units per yar (SWU/year) in 1984. 1812 stages were located in five buildings: C-310 with 60 stages, C-331 with 400 stages, C-333 with 480 stages, C-335 with 400 stages and C-337 with 472 stages.[4]
[edit] Employment and Economic Impact
USEC employs around 1100 to operate the plant. The Department of Energy employs around 600 through contractors to maintain the grounds, portions of the infrastructure, and to remediate environmental contamination at the site. The facility has had a positive economic impact on the local economy and continues to be an economic driver for the community. Elected officials are working to ensure that the plant continues to operate though other methods of enriching uranium, such as centrifuge, are more efficient.[1]
[edit] Contamination
Plant operations have contaminated the site over time. The primary contamination of concern is trichloroethylene (TCE), which was a commonly used degreaser at the site. TCE leaked and contaminated groundwater on and off the site. The groundwater is also contaminated with trace amounts of technetium-99, a radioactive fission product; other contaminates include polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs). Through normal operations, portions of the plant are contaminated with uranium.
In 1988, TCE and trace amounts of technetium-99 was found in the drinking water wells of residences located near the plant site in McCracken County, Kentucky. To protect human health the Department of Energy provided city water, at no cost, to the affected residents and continues to do so.
[edit] Cleanup status
The Department of Energy is using electrical resistance heating to vaporize the TCE from the groundwater. This clean up action began in mid 2010. Much of the contamination of the actual plant will not be cleaned up until the plant ceases operations.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Key Facts: Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant". USEC, Inc.. http://www.usec.com/gaseousdiffusion_pad_facts.htm. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ "Overview: Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant". USEC, Inc.. http://www.usec.com/gaseousdiffusion_pad_overview.htm. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ "History: Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant". USEC, Inc.. http://www.usec.com/gaseousdiffusion_pad_history.htm. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ^ Cochran, Thomas B.; Arkin, William M.; Norris, Robert S.; Hoening, Milton M. (1987). Nuclear Weapons Databook, Vol. III: U.S. Nuclear Warhead Facility Profiles. Natural Resources Defense Council. pp. 127–128. ISBN 0-88730-146-0.
[edit] Sources
- DOE facts: PADUCAH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT
- Global Security.org: Weapons of Mass Destruction-Gas Centrifuge Uranium Enrichment
- GAO Report: Preliminary Observations on DOE’s Cleanup of the Paducah Uranium Enrichment Plant
[edit] External links
- Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant at USEC
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