Today, Congressman Tim Ryan (OH-13), member of the House Appropriations Committee’s Energy and Water Subcommittee, invited Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, to visit Pike County to discuss with local stakeholders issues pertaining to the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) and the closure of Zahn’s Corner Middle School.
During the visit, Ryan and Manchin hosted a community listening session where they advocated for transparency from the Department of Energy while supporting cleanup at the Diffusion Plant, discussed efforts to build a new middle school, and demonstrated their commitment to transform Pike County and Southern Ohio into an advanced energy hub.
“I’m very grateful to Senator Joe Manchin for joining me today in Piketon to hear directly from this community about the severe challenges they’ve endured, especially the closure of Zahn’s Corner Middle School. Pike County has one of the highest rates of cancer incidence in our region — a terrifying reality that demands our attention and our action. I also believe there is a tremendous opportunity to redevelop the Gaseous Diffusion Plant into a powerful economic engine for Pike County and Southern Ohio. I look forward to continuing to work with Senator Manchin to address these issues,” said Congressman Ryan.
“Today’s visit to Pike County underscores why it’s so important to protect our nation’s schools from environmental and chemical hazards. I thank the parents and students of the Scioto Valley School District and Zahn’s Corner Middle School for sharing their stories and frustrations with Congressman Ryan and me today. As Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I am committed to working with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and my congressional colleagues to ensure the Portsmouth cleanup site receives the funding needed to prevent environmental contamination and to improve our understanding of toxic hazards at Department of Energy cleanup sites,” said Chairman Manchin.
Ryan has tirelessly advocated in Congress and the White House to ensure the Gaseous Diffusion Plant is decommissioned safely and to invest in good-paying jobs in Pike County and Southern Ohio.
In May 2021, Ryan pressed U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in Congress to meet with Pike County community leaders to discuss the challenges the community faces due to further open-air demolition of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant and the enormous potential the 3,700 acre plant holds as an advanced energy hub if the cleanup is done with integrity and transparency.
In July 2021, Ryan announced he had successfully secured $500,000 and several additional measures in a House Energy and Water spending bill with Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) that would benefit the community of Piketon and Pike County.
In January 2022, Ryan took to the House floor calling on the federal government to deliver the residents of Pike County, home to the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant site (PORTS), the money they are owed for their integral role in our nation’s efforts to win the Cold War.
In May 2022, Ryan brought House Energy and Water Subcommittee Chairwoman Marcy Kaptur to Piketon to hear community concerns related to the Diffusion Plant.
In June 2022, Ryan secured over $5 million for the community of Piketon and Pike County in a House Energy and Water spending bill, which will be voted on as part of Fiscal Year 2023 Appropriations.
Background:
Pike County, Ohio, was selected by the U.S. government as a site to construct a Gaseous Diffusion Plant in the 1950s to produce enriched uranium for our nuclear arsenal. For decades, the people of Southern Ohio worked tirelessly, keeping our country safe during the Cold War supplying fuel for U.S. nuclear weapons and commercial nuclear reactors. Operations ceased in 2001. Since then, previous administrations approved construction of a landfill on the current site to bury much of the contaminated waste in this community's backyard, only 1000 ft. from the nearest resident.
In 2019, following the detection of radioactive isotopes at nearby Zahn’s Corner Middle School, the school was closed. A Department of Energy monitor across the street registered positive hits for Neptunium, where community members have reported that subsequent testing revealed the presence of enriched uranium, with a signature from the Gaseous Diffusion Plant, inside of the school. Several children that attended this middle school have been diagnosed with and succumbed to rare cancers. Pike County now has one of the highest rates of cancer incidence in the State of Ohio.
Original source can be found here.
