Dismantling Paducah Switchyards Supports Local Recycling, EM Cleanup

PADUCAH, Ky. – As EM begins to dismantle four massive electrical switchyards at the Paducah Site, the recycling of recovered materials and components is supporting local economic development while reducing or offsetting cleanup costs at the site.

With the site’s switchyards deactivated — and power now being received through a new, efficient substation — work crews recently began partial dismantlement of the first switchyard.

Workers removing insulators and steel and aluminum covers are recovering metals and conductors that can be recycled. Such recyclables are transferred to the Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization (PACRO) for sale, resulting in funds to support regional economic development.

The recycling effort is one of many under an agreement with PACRO, EM’s designated community reuse organization for the area, including a previous transfer of approximately 500,000 gallons of electrical transformer oil from the switchyards.

“Paducah’s asset recovery and recycling program is designed to provide monetary benefits to the region while saving taxpayer dollars by avoiding waste disposal costs,” said Jennifer Woodard, the Paducah Site lead with EM’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office.

Built in the early 1950s, the C-537 Switchyard provided up to 1,200 megawatts of power to the site, enough electricity to power as many as 1 million homes.

The switchyard at its tallest point stands about as tall as a seven-story building and spans approximately 8.5 acres. Once the partial dismantlement is completed, structural steel and major components such as transformers and underground infrastructure will remain for future dismantlement.

EM’s Paducah deactivation and remediation contractor, Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership (FRNP), is dismantling the switchyard, with work estimated for completion in early 2022.

In the decades when Paducah’s gaseous diffusion plant was operational, the site’s four electrical switchyards could support up to 3,000 megawatts of power per hour. Today, the site’s cleanup mission only uses about 12 megawatts per hour.

“Beginning dismantlement of the switchyards symbolizes a major repositioning from past operations to future cleanup,” FRNP President Myrna Redfield said. “Utility optimization provides opportunities to redirect dollars to cleanup efforts.”