Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant is a facility located in Piketon, Ohio that produced enriched uranium, including weapons-grade uranium, for the Unites 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).
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Sources
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory Gas Centrifuge Demonstration Program
- Security.org: Weapons of Mass Destruction-Gas Centrifuge Uranium Enrichment
- USEC Facilities: Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant
 |
This article about nuclear power and nuclear reactors for power generation is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
