PIKETON, Ohio — Uranium enrichment operations in Pike County begin anew amidst a backdrop of ongoing controversies. This week, Centrus, owners of the American Centrifuge facility in Piketon, opened their doors to the media and government officials.
In November of 2022, Centrus was awarded a $150 million contract from the United States Department of Energy to demonstrate the production of HALEU (High-assay-low-enriched-uranium). HALEU is a coveted nuclear fuel necessary for advanced nuclear reactors and naval vessels. Currently, the United States imports all HALEU from other countries, primarily Russia. Amidst the Ukrainian invasion, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers have called for domestic production to cut ties with the former Soviet Union.
Ohio Congressman Brad Wenstrup, in 2022, praised the awarded contract, saying, “I strongly believe that as a nation, we must have the capability to enrich uranium right here in the United States. As the pandemic and the war in Ukraine have shown, we absolutely cannot rely on adversarial nations like Russia and China for products that are key to our national security,” said Rep. Wenstrup. Wenstrup himself has been a huge supporter of nuclear operations in Pike County. Some have questioned the congressman’s relationship with Centrus. According to documents obtained by the Guardian from the Federal Election Commission, Wenstrup’s campaign has received thousands of dollars in contributions from Centrus Energy Corp. PAC, a political action committee funded by top executives with the company. Among those whose campaigns received contributions from Centrus Energy Corp. PAC over the years include Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Senator Sherrod Brown, to name a few. All FEC filings are public record.
Over the summer, the Guardian spoke with the office of Senator Brown regarding the passage of Senate Amendment 999 in which greater funding would be made available for HALEU production through the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act. A representative for the Senator said Brown has pushed for funding that would support both domestic HALEU production and the development of small, modular reactors.
Earlier this year, nuclear startup company Oklo announced its intention to build two nuclear reactors at the site. “Oklo is accelerating our commercialization plans with sites for two more plants confirmed, building on our commercial deployment in Idaho,” said Jacob DeWitte, co-founder of Oklo. “Our business model and use of mature, demonstrated reactor technologies allow us to provide power to customers who want reliable, clean, and affordable energy we can provide,” added DeWitte.
In addition to the proposal of two nuclear reactors on the site of the former atomic plant, Newpoint Gas, in March, announced plans to build a Hydrogen Power Plant on the site as well. In a press release, the company said, “Newpoint has committed to building the $1.585 billion clean hydrogen power generation and closed-loop manufacturing facility at the Pike County site.”
At the center of this push for revitalization and repurposing of the highly contaminated site is the Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative (SODI).
SODI, according to their online mission statement, was created to “improve the quality of life for Jackson, Pike, Ross, and Scioto Counties through economic diversification, development of underutilized land and facilities on the Department Of Energy (DOE) Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Site, and continued support of local industry.” The non-profit has been central in finding industries willing to utilize the site of the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
SODI is a non-profit organization that takes assets from DOE and uses them to bring new industries to Pike County. The Guardian looked at IRS 990 filings for SODI and found that the non-profit has steadily been receiving higher and higher monies through grants and the sale of DOE assets. The non-profit is composed of multiple board members from surrounding counties including Pike, Ross, Scioto, and Jackson. Currently, SODI’s attorney, Kevin Shoemaker, is running for Chillicothe City Council.
Activist groups across Ohio continue to contend that any nuclear operations at the former Gaseous Diffusion Plant would further exacerbate concerns of contamination within the county. In May of this year, an independent Human Hazard Risk Assessment was released showing radioactive contamination as far as 6 miles from the Piketon plant. In a joint statement by the Pike County General Health District and the Scioto Valley-Piketon Area Council of Governments, it has been discouraged for any area residents or visitors that eating produce from in-ground gardens throughout the 6-mile radius should be avoided. Plutonium was found in soil samples as far as Scioto County, Waverly, Lake White, and other areas within the 6-mile zone. Higher levels that exceed the base risk factor for Technetium-99 were found as well.
Experts say that these radioactive elements pose a significant danger to human health and the environment if present in the soil. These elements can enter the human body through inhalation, ingestion, or absorption through the skin and can accumulate in organs such as the lungs, bones, and liver. The main health risk associated with exposure to plutonium and Tc-99 is cancer, but these elements can also cause other health problems, such as birth defects, reproductive problems, immune system suppression, damage to the nervous system, and blood disorders. Plutonium and Tc-99 can also contaminate plants and water, posing a risk to the environment and animals and humans that consume them. The report further showed that Plutonium was present in area fish.
Following the findings by the independent study, the Department of Energy released their own report refuting those findings. Public comment on DOE’s report, “Evaluation of Environmental Radiological Sampling Data Collected from 2016 to 2022 Near the Portsmouth Site,” is still open for public comment until November 13, 2023.
Vina Colley, President of the Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security (PRESS) said the findings in the independent study further prove what residents near the plant have already known for years. “People have been made sick and have died because of operations at the plant, and DOE has worked for decades to cover up the extent of the contamination,” said Colley. Others in the community view the proposed repurposing of the plant site and the new uranium enrichment operations by Centrus as the “repeating of an already vicious cycle.”
In a recent “Letter-to-the-Editor,” Joseph Mangano, expert for the Radiation and Public Health Project, said, “For half a century Portsmouth enriched uranium for nuclear weapons and nuclear reactors. The enrichment process generated harmful radioactive chemicals, some of which were released into local air, water, and soil, and ingested by humans.” Mangano pointed to the fact that Pike County has an alarmingly high cancer rate compared to Ohio’s other 88 counties. Mangano said, “Any plans that would subject already-suffering local residents to more harmful exposures to radioactivity should not be tolerated.” He calls on citizens to reject any future nuclear operations in Pike County.
The Piketon Atomic Plant has had a troubled past, and for many, the scars and legacy of past operations weigh heavily on the community. Several groups, including PRESS, and the American Nuclear Activist Alliance, call for Pike and surrounding communities to be added to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, or RECA for short, provides one-time benefit payments to persons who may have developed cancer or other specified diseases after being exposed to radiation from atomic weapons testing or uranium mining, milling, or transportation. Supporters of adding Pike County to the RECA list contend that many in the community have suffered the same ailments as those who were exposed to the weapons testing. Locals have called on their elected officials to fight in Washington to add the community to the list.
In the unfolding narrative of Pike County’s relationship with radioactive contamination, the pages of the future remain unwritten. The specter of rising cancer rates looms, and the potential hazards posed by new nuclear and industrial endeavors at the site cast shadows over the community. As the clock ticks, only time holds the answers to these pressing questions, its steady march unveiling the chapters yet to be written in the complex tale of Pike County’s well-being.
