EEOICPA Statistics for Claimants Living in Kentucky
DOL Part B and Part E Statistics
NIOSH Dose Reconstruction Statistics
Kentucky EEOICPA Facilities
Photo and Facility descriptions credit: DOE
Photo Credit: Miles Manwaring on Unsplash
The Department of
Energy's (DOE) Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
opened in 1952 to enrich uranium for nuclear
weapons. During the plant's Cold War history,
more than one million tons of uranium was
processed.
Construction of the Paducah plant
began in 1951 in response to the increased
demand for enriched uranium for nuclear weapons
production. Initial operations began in 1952 and
full operation commenced in 1955. In addition to
producing enriched uranium for weapons, the
plant also supplied enriched uranium for the
Navy and commercial fuel. The Paducah Plant also
acted as the uranium hexafluoride feed point for
all gaseous diffusion plants until 1964.
Throughout the course of its operations, the
potential for beryllium exposure existed at this
site.
From 1951- July 28, 1998 all 3,556
acres were exclusively controlled by the
Government and considered the DOE facility.
On July 1, 1993, the United States Enrichment
Corporation (USEC)*, a government-owned
corporation formed under the Energy Policy Act
of 1992, assumed control of the plant's uranium
enrichment activities. USEC, which was fully
privatized in July 1998, produced low enriched
uranium for commercial use through May 2013.
Between July 29, 1998 and September 30, 2014,
only roads and grounds outside the perimeter
fence surrounding the enrichment facilities,
plus approximately 200 acres of grounds inside
the fence, remained under the exclusive control
of DOE's Office of Environmental Management.
During this timeframe the inner portion of the
footprint was leased to USEC to support uranium
enrichment operations and DOE maintained its
responsibility for addressing the environmental
cleanup resulting from historic plant
operations.
By October 2014 USEC had returned
the leased plant facilities back to DOE and
regulatory control reverted from USEC/NRC back
to DOE. Therefore by October 1, 2014, the entire
property is again considered a DOE facility.