Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant

The Paducah plant produced low-enriched uranium, originally as feedstock for military reactors and weapons, and later for commercial nuclear power fuel.

The four process buildings cover 74 acres (30 ha), and consumed a peak electrical demand of 3,040 megawatts.

The plant was opened in 1952 as a government-owned, contractor-operated facility producing enriched uranium to fuel military reactors and for use in nuclear weapons.

Power for the Paducah gaseous diffusion plant came from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).

Through normal operations, portions of the plant, primarily process equipment, are contaminated with uranium.

In 1988, TCE and trace amounts of technetium-99 were found in the drinking water wells of residences located near the plant site in McCracken County, Kentucky.

To protect human health, the Department of Energy provided city water at no cost to the affected residents, and continues to do so.

In the 1980s, the family of former employee Joe Harding brought a lawsuit relating to medical conditions that they believed he incurred from having worked at the Paducah plant.

Significant progress has been made in reducing concentrations of TCE in the groundwater by using pump and treat as well as electrical resistance heating.