An excavator with a shear attachment performs “top-down” shearing during final stages of the demolition of the C-410/C-420 UF6 Feed Plant Complex in June. Demolition debris was downsized and loaded into rail cars for shipment off site. The complex was the last of 32 inactive facilities to be removed as part of the cleanup scope that existed before commercial uranium enrichment operations ended at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant and the plant facilities were returned to DOE. (Photo by Dylan Nichols)
PADUCAH, Ky. (December 30, 2015) – The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management (EM) has published its 2015 Year in Review, outlining the accomplishments achieved over the course of this year at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Site and throughout the EM program.
“I am proud of all of the work we in EM—both at headquarters and in the field—have accomplished this year,” said Assistant Secretary of Energy for Environmental Management Monica Regalbuto upon releasing the review. “While facing the most complex cleanup challenges, measurable progress was made in 2015—a testament to our skilled workforce.”
The Year in Review details some of the progress made at the Paducah Site in 2015 along with other EM sites. The site successfully transitioned cleanup activities to a new deactivation contractor, demolished its largest building to date, optimized and repaired infrastructure, and began to deactivate the gaseous diffusion plant facilities recently returned to DOE.
“As the Year in Review document indicates, we are positioned at Paducah to build on a successful year by completing near-term projects and advancing our overall strategy moving forward,” said Robert Edwards, acting manager of the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office.
Paducah Site Lead Jennifer Woodard said with the plant’s return, DOE has oversight of the entire site for first time in almost 20 years, and major deactivation activities are under way to prepare for future decontamination and decommissioning.
“2015 has been a pivotal year at the Paducah Site,” Woodard said. “We are fortunate to have a highly skilled federal and contractor workforce in place to safely and successfully continue this vital cleanup project as we prepare for future site missions and community reuse of this asset.”
The review may be accessed online at: /pppo/downloads/doe-em-2015-year-review-paducah-site.
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