Local high school students partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management's Portsmouth Site and Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service to develop and publish this year’s Student Summary of the Annual Site Environmental Report, commonly referred to as the Student ASER.
Office of Environmental Management
June 25, 2024
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Portsmouth Site team members join Eastern High School students for a windshield tour of the Portsmouth Site before starting their research projects. Pictured with the students are Portsmouth Site Lead Jeremy Davis, back, EM Federal Coordinator Greg Simonton, left, Fluor-BWXT-Portsmouth Communications Director Shawn Jordan, right, and Fluor-BWXT Environmental Remediation Director Jyh-Dong Chiou, second from right.
PIKE COUNTY, Ohio — Local high school students partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management's Portsmouth Site and Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service to develop and publish this year’s Student Summary of the Annual Site Environmental Report, commonly referred to as the Student ASER.
“For the first time in the program, we had two schools working on the project, and our first school from neighboring Scioto County,” Federal Coordinator Greg Simonton said of Eastern and Northwest high schools. “The growth of the program is a great example of how we are able to give local students educational opportunities that go beyond the classroom.”
The ASER is key to EM’s effort to keep the public informed about environmental conditions at the Portsmouth Site and offers a detailed overview of environmental activities each year.
The Student ASER provides a summary in a visual and condensed format. To better understand the content, students work with subject matter experts, attend field trips and spend months learning about the site’s history and EM’s deactivation and demolition work.
Krislyn Moore, left, and Kaylee Lute present their poster on the release of property containing residual radioactive material for the Student Annual Site Environmental Report Summary Expo.
“My dad works at the Portsmouth Site but I never really knew what all he did at work, so this was an excellent opportunity to better understand the work going on at the site,” said Kaylee Lute, a student at Northwest High School in Scioto County.
The students met regularly with guest speakers from EM, Ohio University, Fluor-BWXT-Portsmouth (FBP) and the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative to learn the site’s history and the safe cleanup progress to prepare for future reindustrialization. FBP is EM's decontamination and decommissioning contractor for the site.
“I have lived near the plant my whole life, so I really enjoyed this chance to get a deeper understanding of the site,” said Anna Lesh, a student of Eastern High School in Pike County. “You hear plenty of rumors, but this program really helped me learn more about the work that is going on and the plans for the future.”
The Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service manages the annual program through a grant from EM. This year, the students created academic posters and presented them to guests from EM, Portsmouth Site contractors and the public.
-Contributor: Cindi Remy
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