Teachers, Administrators Learn About Skills Needed for Paducah Site Workforce

In this photo, Mission Conversion Services Alliance Operations Support Manager Tom Simmons, right, speaks with Heath Middle School Science Teacher Brandy Roberts about job opportunities at the Paducah Site Depleted Uranium Hexafluoride (DUF6) Conversion Plant. Mission Conversion Services Alliance operates the DUF6 conversion plants at the Paducah, Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio, sites. The contractor converts DUF6 into a safer, more stable oxide form. The DUF6 material, a coproduct of decades of uranium enrichment for defense and commercial energy purposes, poses long-term storage and environmental challenges in its original form. Through conversion to uranium oxide, the DUF6 team is helping mitigate those risks.

PADUCAH, Ky. — Members of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) workforce recently discussed job opportunities with area teachers and administrators as they toured the Paducah Site. EM team members presented visual materials and held hands-on demonstrations on topics such as demolition for the educators and administrators.

The discussions and tour were part of the annual Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce Educator Externships, an immersive professional development program that connects local teachers with regional employers. This practical experience helps educators understand the skills and credentials required in modern workplaces to better guide students toward high-demand local careers. This is especially important as the Paducah Site continues to be a part of the nuclear renaissance across America, shifting focus to cleanup for future reindustrialization.

-Contributors: Nick Henley, Dylan Nichols