Portsmouth Site Director Dr. Vince Adams presents U.S. Army Major Ryan Watson with a framed photo of the Portsmouth Decontamination and Decommissioning Project.
Fluor-BWXT’s Dennis Carr and EM’s Jud Lilly explain the purpose of the X-326 facility while it operated and the current activities to safely remove the process gas equipment.
PIKETON, Ohio – EM recently welcomed 32 members of the U.S. Army 412th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne – Tactical) to tour the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site.
The Army unit requested the visit after the battalion training officer heard about the site’s successful public tour program. The citizen-soldiers of the 412th battalion, based in Columbus, are Army Reservists who come together monthly to participate in training to prepare them for any possibility during world-wide deployment. Training encompasses a wide range of functions from support for civil authorities to economic development, to humanitarian assistance.
“We were very eager and proud to host this group of soldiers,” EM Site Director Dr. Vincent Adams said.
Following the welcome, Adams and Decontamination and Decommissioning (D&D) Federal Project Director Jud Lilly provided an overview of the site, including a site history, details on how the gaseous diffusion process worked, scope of the D&D project, and stakeholders’ vision for the future.
“I could tell the group was really interested because they asked a lot of good questions, not just about the D&D but how the site was built and how quickly it went into operations,” Adams said. “We have a shared respect for the determination it took to build a plant of this magnitude and get it operating.”
Battalion Commander Maj. Ryan Watson said civil affairs soldiers care and have experience regarding how facilities are built, operate, and how this D&D site will improve the future.
“Helping bridge and repair communities is what we do around the world. It is great to see the efforts that the plant team puts into fruition and completion of your projects. The end result is win-win for the community,” he said.
“It was a real learning event for our soldiers to see the complex and important work the plant has accomplished in the past, and safe and ethical completion of your current projects in the future. Your efforts mirror what our citizen-soldiers do in Army civil affairs,” Watson said.
Adams added: “I think this visit really opened up an opportunity for dialogue and sharing best practices. If we can help these young soldiers by sharing our experience, what a positive impact that would be, for both of us.”