Paducah 101 Video 2021
Office of Environmental Management
In 1950, the Atomic Energy Commission, a predecessor agency to DOE, selected a 3,556-acre tract of government-owned land near Paducah, Kentucky, as the location to construct a second gaseous diffusion uranium enrichment plant (GDP) to support US national security needs. The Paducah GDP enriched uranium from 1952 to 2013 and was the last government-owned uranium enrichment facility operating in the United States. The Paducah GDP produced low-enriched uranium originally as feedstock for nuclear weapons materials and later for commercial nuclear power plants. Watch the video above to learn more about Paducah.
Useful Links
Major Contractor(s)
- Enterprise Technical Assistance Services, Inc. (ETAS)
- Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, LLC
- Mid-America Conversion Services, LLC
- Swift and Staley

Workers for EM Paducah Site deactivation and remediation contractor Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership use a jackhammer to break up concrete in the initial stage of construction on the Large Item Neutron Assay System facility.
Paducah News
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EM has selected Reinhard Knerr, manager of the Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO), to serve as deputy manager of the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) in Lexington, Kentucky, effective Jan. 29.
January 17, 2023
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As EM’s Paducah Site completed its first emergency exercise since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, construction crews broke ground on the new Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to improve coordination and response to emergencies across the site.
January 10, 2023
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EM successfully removed 1 million pounds of an ozone-depleting chemical from the Paducah Site, a benefit to the environment comparable to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by taking about 10,000 vehicles off the road in a year.
December 20, 2022
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Three eighth graders from Heath Middle School (HMS) won this year’s DOE West Kentucky Regional Science Bowl t-shirt design contest.
December 13, 2022
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EM’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO) sites in Portsmouth, Ohio and Paducah, Kentucky recently wrapped up their 2022 public tour campaigns, which garnered high interest from the public.
November 8, 2022
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Crews have finished building a first-of-a-kind DOE facility that sets the stage to change the way EM’s Paducah Site scans, packages and disposes equipment and waste for the foreseeable future.
November 1, 2022
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Both of EM’s conversion plants that recycle depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) to safer and more beneficial products are back in business with improved safety and sustainability measures following a COVID-19 operational pause.
October 25, 2022
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A virtual museum cataloging the history of EM’s Paducah Site is available online.
October 11, 2022
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Local leaders from Paducah, Kentucky recently visited Washington, D.C. to meet with EM Senior Advisor William “Ike” White and other senior DOE officials to discuss the post-cleanup future for the Paducah Site.
October 4, 2022
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A National Cleanup Workshop panel comprised of federal and contractor leaders and community stakeholders from across the DOE complex shared insights into succession planning to help develop EM’s future workforce.
September 27, 2022
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