Energy.gov

Environmental impacts occurred at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant during operations from 1954-2001. Remediation efforts began well before the uranium enrichment operations ceased in 2001. In 1989 the U.S. Department of Energy established the Office of Environmental Management for the purpose of remediating facilities within the nation’s nuclear weapons complex. Various remediation efforts have taken place at the Portsmouth Site since 1989, to address groundwater and soil contamination. These efforts include closing landfills and lagoons, removing waste and inactive facilities, and begin decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) of facilities.

Groundwater Cleanup

All five groundwater plumes have ongoing groundwater treatment to contain and reduce contamination – either by pump and treatment through extraction wells and groundwater treatment facilities, bioremediation or phytoremediation.

• More than 1,000 groundwater monitoring wells have been installed around the 3,777-acre federal plant site to sample and identify five separate groundwater areas, called plumes, primarily contaminated with Trichloroethylene (TCE). About 600 monitoring wells are sampled regularly.
• 681 million gallons of groundwater have been treated through four on-site groundwater treatment facilities since the early 1990s.
• More than 35,000 pounds of TCE have been removed from the groundwater.
• 3,300 hybrid poplar trees were planted as part of an Ohio EPA-approved groundwater cleanup remedy (phytoremediation).

Landfills Closed

Five landfills on-site have been closed in accordance with regulatory requirements. These landfills cover 60 acres and long-term surveillance and maintenance monitoring of the landfills continues today. The landfills were used for the disposal of a variety of wastes such as construction debris, low-level contaminated scrap materials, hazardous materials, classified materials, and sanitary wastes.

Lagoons Closed

Besides the landfills, a number of sludge lagoons, impoundments and oil biodegradation plots have been remediated in accordance with Decision Documents issued under the Consent Decree with the State of Ohio and the Administrative Consent Order.

Waste Removed

More than 2.8 million cubic feet of waste had been removed by DOE’s cleanup contractor at Portsmouth since March 29, 2011. If stacked on a regulation-size high school football field, this would be enough to generate a pile covering the entire field more than 58 feet high. 

Inactive Facilities Removed

Several site facilities were inactive for a number of years and were determined to be no longer needed for other, ongoing site missions. Twenty four facilities have been removed to reduce site risks and long-term surveillance and maintenance costs. 

_{*Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act awarded to Portsmouth in 2009.}

Decontamination & Decommissioning (D&D)

Under the D&D project, DOE Portsmouth Site continues to change as more facilities are removed as the site is prepared for future reuse. Existing buildings and temporary trailers are utilized for relocated personnel and services. Steam generation is provided by the X-690 Steam Plant that was constructed in 2012 to replace the X-600. The new steam plant is right-sized and more efficient than its predecessor.