Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant
- Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant
The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant is a facility located in Piketon, Ohio that produced enriched uranium, including weapons-grade uranium, for the United States atomic energy program and US nuclear weapons program. The plant is now operated by United States Enrichment Corporation, a subsidiary of USEC Incorporated, a publicly traded corporation (NYSE: USU).
History
The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant began operations in 1954 near the beginning of the US-Soviet nuclear arms race. The primary mode of enrichment was the gaseous diffusion of Uranium hexaflouride to separate the lighter fissile isotope, U-235, from the heavier non-fissile isotope, U-238. Operations at the Piketon plant ceased in May 2001.
Future
Though USEC enrichment operations ceased in 2001, the US Department of Energy built a pilot plant at Piketon for the gas-centrifuge enrichment process. The pilot plant is being managed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Plans for a full scale gas-centrifuge enrichment operation to be online in 2010.
Sources
* [http://www.ornl.gov/sci/ees/nuclear_technology_programs/Uenrich.htm Oak Ridge National Laboratory Gas Centrifuge Demonstration Program]
* [http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/intro/u-centrifuge.htmGlobal Security.org: Weapons of Mass Destruction-Gas Centrifuge Uranium Enrichment]
* [http://www.usec.com/v2001_02/HTML/Facilities_PortsOverview.asp USEC Facilities: Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant]
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