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U.S. DOE Gaseous Diffusion Plant

U.S. DOE Gaseous Diffusion Plant
EPA ID: KY8890008982
Location: Paducah, McCraken County, KY
Congressional District: 01
NPL Status: Proposed: 05/10/93; Final 05/31/94
Project Manager
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Site Background:
The 1.350-acre Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) is a uranium-enrichment facility, owned by the Department of Energy (DOE).  The GDP is still in operation under a lease of the plant to the U.S. Enrichment Corporation (USEC), providing fuel rods to electricity generating reactors in the utility industry.  The site is located 3 miles south of the Ohio River and 10 miles west of Paducah, Kentucky.  Extensive support facilities are required to maintain the uranium enrichment process including a steam plant, four major electrical switch yards, four sets of cooling towers, a building for chemical cleaning and decontamination, a water treatment plant, and maintenance and laboratory facilities. Approximately 740 acres of the plant are fenced, and an uninhabited buffer zone surrounds the fence. PGDP started uranium-enrichment operations in 1952. Plant operations have generated hazardous, non-hazardous, and radioactive wastes, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) technetium-99 (Tc-99), and multiple isotopes of uranium. In 1988, DOE found Tc-99 in an off-site drinking water well located north of the site. VOCs also have been detected in nearby private wells and in on-site monitoring wells. An estimated 1,400 people obtain drinking water from wells within 4 miles of PGDP. In addition, DOE has detected PCBs in on-site surface water and downstream of the plant in Big Bayou Creek and in Little Bayou Creek. These creeks are part of the 2,100-acre West Kentucky Wildlife Management Area, which is adjacent to the buffer area surrounding the site. In 1989, the State of Kentucky's Division of Water issued a warning against eating fish caught in the Little Bayou Creek. The Big Bayou Creek, however, currently has no fish consumption advisories. In 2006 DOE reported that PCBs had been detected in groundwater in the vicinity of the U-746 landfill and within the PGDP security boundary.
Cleanup Progress:  Construction Underway
Following EPA’s issuance of a CERCLA 106 Order in 1988, the Agency directed DOE to determine the cause of groundwater contamination in the private drinking water wells adjacent to the site. The DOE established a Water Policy that same year to provide nearby residents with an alternate drinking water supply to replace their contaminated drinking water wells. The DOE completed remedial investigations in 1993, and 1995, and issued two Records of Decision (RODs) to address groundwater contamination by pumping and treating the "hot spots" of TCE just to the north of the plant. Since this time, the DOE has implemented several cleanup actions across the facility, which include a removal action to address PCB hotspots, and an innovative technology (i.e., LASAGNA) to remove TCE bound in clayey soils. In 1999 a ROD was issued by the DOE that addressed removal of contaminated sediments in the Surface Water OU for the North South Diversion Ditches.  In 2004 Remedial Action was complete for the Phase 1 and Phase 2 of this project.  In August 2005 a ROD was issued by the DOE for the implementation of electrical resistance heating (ERH) for TCE removal at the primary source area for TCE at the C-400 building.  The magnitude of the source is estimated at 900,000 pounds of TCE.  Construction on the ERH system started in 2008 after a protracted design period. 
In 2006 DOE completed the Scrap Yard Removal Action, in which 30,500 cubic yards of contaminates metal scrap were excavated and shipped off-site for final disposal.  Contaminated soils under the former scrap pile are to be addressed, as part of the Soils operable unit (OU).  In 2007 and 2008 DOE completed removal of an inactive incinerator and smelter as CERCLA removal actions.  At present the facility is conducting environmental investigations under the framework of five over-arching operable units: Surface Water, Groundwater, Soils, Deactivation and Decommissioning, Burial Grounds. 
Planned Actions
Operation of the GDP by USEC is slated to cease in or around 2013, at which time DOE plans to deactivate and decommission (D&D) the entire facility in preparation for ultimate transfer from DOE ownership.  During and after GDP shut-down, additional environmental investigation is planned for areas where active operations currently preclude physical access for sampling.  Evaluation of the results from these studies will likely lead to additional cleanup actions to ensure overall protection of human health and the environment and to comply with Section 120 (h) of CERCLA with respect to transfer of property. These investigations and subsequent cleanups are planned and will be executed under the CERCLA 120 Federal Facility Agreement (effective date February 13, 1998) along with the State RCRA Hazardous Waste Permit.  The current schedule for investigation and cleanup extends out to 2040, but long-term remedial actions are expected to take longer to achieve all remedial action objectives.  Due to the anticipated volume of CERCLA waste from D&D and other activities, DOE is evaluating its waste disposal options, including the potential to construct a disposal cell on-site.
In November and December 2006, and February 2007 DOE notified KYDEP and EPA of the existence of 93 soil piles and 29 rubble piles on DOE property which has been licensed to KY Fish and Wildlife as part of the West KY Wildlife Management District since 1953.  The soil piles were created in the 1980s and 1990s according to worker interviews as part of dredging activities conducted on the outfall canals and Bayou and Little Bayou Creeks, which carry PGDP process water to the Ohio River.  DOE is in the process of conducting site evaluations for these piles.

Community Involvement
In addition to the ongoing cleanup activities, the DOE has commissioned a Citizens Advisory Board, which meets monthly to address the CERCLA/RCRA cleanup activities and potential health issues associated with past operations and/or disposal activities. This group serves to keep local citizens up-to-date with cleanup progress and related issues. Both the EPA and the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection serve as ex-officio representatives on this board.  The CAB’s advisory role is in addition to the requirements of CERCLA section 117 for public participation in decision-making.

For information about the contents of this page please contact Donna Bledsoe

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