Workers Clear One of Paducah Site’s Largest Storage Yards

PADUCAH, Ky. – Workers at EM’s Paducah Site recently removed approximately 60,000 cubic feet of excess equipment and other things stored at the C-740 Material Yard, one of the site’s largest storage yards. This volume of material is enough to fill nearly three large houses.

“Throughout the years, equipment and other items were placed in storage,” said Paducah Site Lead Jennifer Woodard of EM’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO). “Removal of this equipment and material from the C-740 Material Yard helps eliminate potential hazards associated with such storage and improves the Paducah Site.”

Items in storage there included a retired mobile crane and several large pieces of equipment.

“This was a major accomplishment for site workers by safely and compliantly reducing hazards and risks,” said Myrna Redfield, program manager with Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, the Paducah Site deactivation and remediation contractor.

In addition to clearing the material yard, PPPO recently transferred over 100,000 pounds of scrap metal to the Paducah Area Community Reuse Organization (PACRO), which will reuse or recycle it and some of the C-740 Yard materials to generate revenue for regional economic development initiatives. The Paducah Site also recently transferred two 650-horsepower package boilers to PACRO.

“Our partnership with DOE provides opportunities for future economic development and job growth in our region,” PACRO Chairman Kevin Neal said. “The cleanup work they are conducting at the Paducah Site continues to move Western Kentucky in a positive direction.”