The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) was constructed in 1952 to produce enriched uranium, initially for the nation’s nuclear weapons program and later for nuclear fuel for commercial power plants. The plant is owned by the Department of Energy (DOE), which oversees environmental cleanup activities at the site, including environmental remediation, waste management, depleted uranium conversion, and decontamination and decommissioning. Commercial enrichment was conducted under lease from 1993 until 2013 when operations ceased and the gaseous diffusion facilities were returned to the DOE Environmental Management (EM) program. EM has conducted extensive cleanup activities at the site since the late 1980s and is currently deactivating the returned plant facilities while continuing the aggressive remediation program being managed by its Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office.
Paducah News
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The U.S. Department of Energy recently bestowed Office of Environmental Management employees and teams with seven Secretary’s Honor Awards, recognizing their exceptional leadership, innovation and commitment to restoring and revitalizing sites as DOE cleans the legacy of the past to power America’s future.October 6, 2026 -
Building on the successful removal of 497 converters from the C-333 Process Building earlier this year, workers effectively segmented the first fissile converter from the second of four former uranium enrichment facilities undergoing deactivation at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Paducah Site.October 6, 2026 -
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management University Programs are building a workforce pipeline to help complete the legacy nuclear cleanup mission.October 6, 2026
