Community Outreach
Portsmouth Site-Specific Advisory Board (SSAB)
The Portsmouth Site-Specific Advisory Board (SSAB) was developed to involve stakeholders more directly in the Portsmouth Site cleanup decisions. They are a representative organization consisting of members with diverse interests and concerns related to the former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant Environmental Management activities. Liaison members include representatives from the state of Ohio and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Members of the SSAB participate in educational and informative programs to help facilitate meaningful recommendations. SSAB board meetings provide opportunities for members of the community to provide public comments on the issues under consideration by the SSAB.
While only one Federal Advisory Committee Act chartered Environmental Management SSAB exists, eight local boards under the Environmental Management (EM) SSAB umbrella have been organized for EM activities all over America. The SSAB is a stakeholder board that provides the Assistant Secretary of the Office of Environmental Management, and designees, with advice, information and recommendations on issues affecting the EM program at the Portsmouth Site. These issues might include cleanup standards and environmental restoration, waste management disposition, future land use, cleanup science and technology activities.
Educational Outreach
Portsmouth Site educational outreach seeks to inform and motivate area students to pursue opportunities in scientific and technical fields. The following are programs aimed to educate local students about the Portsmouth Site.
Science Alliance
The annual Science Alliance event brings more than 1,500 high school juniors from the surrounding four counties to the Portsmouth Site for a unique, interactive science fair dedicated to areas related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The event includes scientific demonstrations and provides information related to careers associated with STEM fields, the academic requirements necessary to pursue those careers, and information from regional universities that offer those programs. Some of the interactive demonstrations include biology, recycling, innovation, geology, groundwater monitoring, emergency management and much more.
South Central Ohio Regional Science Bowl
The annual South Central Ohio Regional Science Bowl is an academic competition made up of teams from the four-county Region of Influence of the Portsmouth Site. Regional science bowls are conducted throughout the nation for high school and middle school students with each regional winner advancing to the National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C.
Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) Summary
Ohio University’s PORTS Future Vision Project sponsors and helps to develop an Annual Site Environmental Report (ASER) Summary in collaboration with staff and students from area high schools. The ASER Summary is drawn from information found in the most recent DOE technical ASER and presentation materials developed by the high school staff and students throughout the school year. The goals when producing the ASER Summary are to educate regional high school students about activities and future career opportunities at the Portsmouth Site and develop materials that will facilitate area residents learning more about DOE’s work.
Portsmouth Site Tours
The Portsmouth Site provides opportunities for members of the public to tour the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site on select dates. The bus tour circles the plant’s perimeter with one stop to visit inside the Plant Control Facility, the hub of the gaseous diffusion plant. The tour involves minimal walking, just a short distance from the bus to the building. Participants must be U.S. citizens 18 years of age or older.
The tours provide a close-up view of the former uranium enrichment facilities before they are addressed under the Decontamination & Decommissioning Project, and a unique opportunity to become oriented with the history of the plant, its current activities and its future missions.