The OEPA data dump reveals that, contrary to assumptions of resolved issues, the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) continues to face significant and ongoing environmental challenges. Critical documents highlight a persistent and unyielding groundwater contamination plume, requiring continuous active intervention through extensive treatment systems and pilot projects for advanced contaminant extraction. This indicates that despite years of effort, the scale and complexity of groundwater remediation remain substantial, suggesting a long-term environmental battle rather than a contained problem.

In a chilling move that prioritizes corporate profits over public health, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is pushing forward with land transfers at the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, a site riddled with a half-century legacy of radioactive and chemical contamination. Despite vociferous warnings from the Ohio EPA and a history of worker exposure and community illnesses, large swathes of this poisoned land are being handed over for a "reindustrialization" scheme, including a controversial "blue hydrogen" project that promises clean energy while overlooking a dirty past.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced three new federally backed nuclear research projects under its GAIN (Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear) program—raising renewed concerns from environmental and public safety advocates about the government’s continued investment in high-risk nuclear technologies.

The American Centrifuge Program at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS), operated by American Centrifuge Operating, LLC (a Centrus Energy Corp. subsidiary), continues to discharge radioactive materials into the environment. According to the Q1 2025 Radiological Discharge Monitoring Report, submitted to the Ohio EPA, both Outfall 012 (Southwest Holding Pond) and Outfall 013 (West Holding Pond) show repeated detections of beta emitters, uranium, and in one case, elevated alpha radiation.

For decades, the Piketon Atomic Plant was a key part of the nation's energy infrastructure. This application synthesizes findings from the Pike County Human Health Risk Assessment and legal documents like Walburn v. Centrus Energy Corp. to explore the long-term environmental and human impact on the surrounding community.

The Unveiling: Deeper Layers of Deception in PORTS' Radioactive Practices

This report investigates the potential that Pixelle Specialty Solutions’ Chillicothe, Ohio mill may be processing radioactively contaminated lumber sourced from Pike County, a region historically impacted by discharges from the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS). PORTS, once central to the U.S. nuclear program, released multiple radionuclides into the environment, including uranium isotopes, neptunium-237, technetium-99, plutonium-239/240, and americium-241. Scientific studies and Department of Energy (DOE) records confirm contamination of soils, vegetation, and water systems in Pike County. With active logging in affected areas, and insufficient radioactive testing in Pixelle's current protocols, there exists a credible risk to product safety, worker health, and the environment. This report assesses contamination pathways, evaluates company practices, and provides recommendations for enhanced detection and response.

PIKETON, OH – New correspondence from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA) reveals significant questions and concerns about the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) plans for managing and demolishing contaminated facilities at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant. The EPA letters, dated May 30, 2025, highlight potential blind spots in sampling for dangerous chemicals and inadequate monitoring proposals, raising serious alarms for public health and environmental advocates.

A recent report from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for 2024 reveals a disturbing acceleration in efforts to usher in a new generation of unproven and potentially hazardous advanced nuclear reactors. This push has been significantly amplified by a May 23rd White House Executive Order from President Donald J. Trump, which explicitly directs the NRC to "reform" its regulations to reduce barriers and rapidly promote nuclear power. These aggressive moves come despite critical new research, published in May 2022 by Stanford and the University of British Columbia, revealing that the much-touted small modular reactors (SMRs) will actually exacerbate the nation's already dire nuclear waste crisis.

Buried beneath decades of federal silence and sanitized reports lies a brutal truth: the U.S. government knowingly launched radioactive gas into the skies of southern Ohio. They called them “purge vents.” The workers called them “Midnight Rockets.” What they really were: deliberate, unfiltered releases of radioactive fallout.

WASHINGTON D.C. – In a move that prioritizes industry profits and unproven technology over public safety, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has rubber-stamped NuScale Power's 77 megawatt-electric (MWe) small modular reactor (SMR) design. Hailed by its corporate proponents as a "leap toward clean energy," this decision by the NRC is a chilling confirmation of a dangerous trend: fast-tracking nuclear expansion at any cost, regardless of mounting safety, economic, and environmental concerns.

PERRY, OH – Despite official assurances of safety and compliance, a detailed analysis of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant's 2024 Annual Radioactive Effluent Release Report, obtained by the Ohio Atomic Press, paints a concerning picture of continuous radioactive discharges into Lake Erie and the surrounding atmosphere. The report, ostensibly a routine regulatory filing, reveals not just the presence, but the pervasive nature of radioactive materials being released, alongside critical gaps in how these emissions are monitored and regulated.