Uranium plant cleanup may take decades to finish
Timetable for project concerns workers, residents.
T he c le anup ofa Cold W ar-e ra uranium plant in southe rn Ohio is e xpe c te d to take anothe r thre e de c ade s or more , ac c ording to the U .S .De partme nt ofEne rgy.
U .S .S e n.R ob Portman had aske d whe the r the administration was c ommitte d to de c ontaminating and de c ommissioning the Portsmouth Gase ous Diffusion Plant in P ike ton at an ac c e le rate d rate and finishing b y 2 0 2 4, as announc e d b y forme r Ene rgy S e c re tary S te ve n Chu. In a re sponse se nt e arlie r this month and share d T ue sday b y Portman, the de partme nt said the 20 24 goal “is not ac hie vab le .”
Inste ad, without muc h e lab oration, it said its targe t range for finishing the c le anup is b e twe e n 2 0 44 and 2 0 52 .
T hat indic ate s “the proje c t was e ithe r se ve re - ly mismanage d or the c ommitme nts made to the c ommunity we re no more than e mpty promise s,” Portman, an Ohio R e - pub lic an, said in a state - me nt c alling the situation unac c e ptab le .H e said he will work with c ongre ssional c olle ague s “to ge t this proje c t b ac k on trac k.”
T he time tab le for the c le anup is a ke y c onc e rn for worke rs and othe rs in the are a b e c ause it c ould he lp c le ar the way for re - de ve lopme nt at the site and, in the me antime , is a major sourc e ofjob s.
T he c le anup e mploys more than 1,80 0 pe ople and provide s some ofthe b e st-paying job s in a poc ke t ofhigh une mployme nt, whic h is why the thre at ofhundre ds oflayoffs last ye ar c ause d ple nty ofanxie ty loc ally until Congre ss provide d a last-minute infusion offunding through the e nd ofthe c urre nt fisc al ye ar.
Funding re mains a c onc e rn.M uc h ofthe proje c t is funde d through a b arte r program in whic h the gove rnme nt se lls uranium on the ope n marke t, c re ating unc e rtainty as pric e s fluc - tuate .S ome lawmake rs have pushe d for the gove rnme nt to appropriate more dire c t funding.