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.
Field Manager
Joel B. Bradburne, Manager
Budget
|
FY21 Enacted (in the millions) |
FY22 Enacted (in the millions) |
FY23 Requested (in the millions) |
| $316 | $319 | $282 |
Useful Links
Major Contractor(s)
- Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, LLC
- Mid-America Conversion Services, LLC
- Swift and Staley
- Enterprise Technical Assistance Services, Inc. (ETAS)
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
VIEW ALL
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
Learn More
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
Learn More
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
Learn More
A virtual museum cataloging the history of EM’s Paducah Site is available online.
October 11, 2022
Learn More
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
Learn More
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
Learn More
Nicole Nelson-Jean, EM associate principal deputy assistant secretary for field operations, toured cleanup operations at the Portsmouth and Paducah sites and visited the Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO).
September 6, 2022
Learn More
Workers are introducing a first at EM’s Paducah Site — use of robot technology — to set the stage for future deactivation and remediation work at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP).
August 23, 2022
Learn More
Members of the Paducah Site’s citizens advisory board (CAB) recently visited one of EM’s two plants that convert depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) to more stable compounds.
August 16, 2022
Learn More
Purchasing environmentally friendly products is a longtime goal of EM’s Moab Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project, and the site has been recognized for it for a third year in a row.
July 26, 2022
Learn More