Creating a sustainable economic future for the region.
Creating a sustainable economic future for the region.
Thank you for visiting our website and learning more about the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) progress at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Pike County, Ohio.
Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth (FBP) is comprised of more than 2,000 workers dedicated to the safe environmental cleanup of the Portsmouth site to prepare the land for reindustrialization.
As you click through our website, you will see that a large part of our mission is our commitment to building a strong and sustainable economy in southern Ohio through regional purchasing and economic development grants; supporting the needs of area non-profit organizations; and, the advancement of the region’s next generation through STEM education and worker training.
On behalf of all of us at FBP, we hope you enjoy learning more about us and look forward to continually sharing our progress here at the site.
Sincerely,
Greg Wilkett
Fluor-BWXT President and CEO
In the early 1950s, the Atomic Energy Commission sought to dramatically expand its production of enriched uranium both for military purposes — nuclear submarines and weapons — and to provide fuel for an expanding fleet of commercial nuclear power plants.
Considering the area's abundant water resources, labor force, availability of reliable electrical power and transportation routes, Piketon, Ohio, was chosen in August 1952 to complement the federal government's gaseous diffusion program already well underway at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Paducah, Kentucky.
Construction of the site quickly began in 1952. The effort was impressive, and when completed, included:
In just four years, the plant was completed at a cost of $1.2 billion, coming in six months ahead of schedule and nearly $450 million less than initially estimated.
With America's nuclear stockpile well prepared to address any potential national security challenges, the mission at the Portsmouth site begin to change. In the 1960s, the site took on a more commercial focus, enriching uranium mainly for commercial nuclear power plants.The continuing work to enrich uranium for the nuclear navy ceased in 1991, and in 1993, the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC) assumed management of enrichment activities.Uranium enrichment activities at Portsmouth concluded in May of 2001.
Today, the Portsmouth site is in cold shutdown awaiting decontamination and decommissioning. The site includes:
Our mission is to safely decontaminate and decommission the Portsmouth Site while partnering with the community to create a sustainable economic future for the region.