Portsmouth, Paducah Site Release Annual Environmental Reports

A Paducah Site team member takes groundwater samples from a monitoring well. The information gathered from the samples provides data for the site’s environmental monitoring and cleanup progress published in the Annual Site Environmental Report.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Portsmouth and Paducah sites recently released annual reports of their environmental monitoring and compliance activities central to cleanup as they transition from nuclear remediation to nuclear renaissance.

The Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) is a component of the DOE Office of Environmental Management’s (EM) commitment to provide up-to-date information to the public as cleanup progresses. It explains how EM evaluates air, water, soil and groundwater conditions, ensuring results align with environmental management regulations.

The most recent reports cover the full calendar year of 2024, with final data, including results from thousands of samples that required extensive laboratory analysis and validation, compiled and verified throughout 2025.

“The ASER is an essential method to validate our actions meet our cleanup goals,” Portsmouth Paducah Project Office Interim Acting Deputy Manager and Paducah Site Lead April Ladd said. “Most importantly, the reports demonstrate how we use data and science to guide cleanup decisions for the safety of the workers, community and the environment.”

The ASER also records the progress and performance of environmental monitoring programs that support safe cleanup and long term management of the sites, highlighting how monitoring data is used to evaluate trends, confirm the effectiveness of controls and identify opportunities for improvement.

“The ASER is a key tool for maintaining trust with our stakeholders,” Acting Portsmouth Site Lead Jud Lilly said. “It shows how we are responsibly managing cleanup progress, meeting regulatory requirements and using monitoring results to support safe and effective cleanup.”

Access the reports on the Portsmouth and Paducah ASER web pages.

Hard copies of the 2024 ASERs are also available. A printed copy of the Portsmouth ASER can be viewed at the Environmental Information Center at the Endeavor Center, 1862 Shyville Road, Piketon, Ohio, and public libraries in Pike, Ross, Jackson, and Scioto counties in Ohio.

In Paducah, a printed copy is available at the Paducah Citizens Advisory Board office in Room 221 of the Emerging Technology Center, 4810 Alben Barkley Drive, Paducah, Kentucky.

-Contributors: Shawn Jordan, Dylan Nichols