Citizen advisers tour conversion facility at Paducah Gaseous Diffusion site

A group made up of members of the citizens advisory board got to tour the Paducah facility that converts depleted uranium hexafluoride into more stable compounds for disposal.

The facility recently restarted operations, following upgrades completed during the shutdown, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The board was brought up to speed on the improvements during their June meeting. The tour provided the board members with an in depth look at the conversion process and the equipment used.

The citizens advisory board consists of residents of McCracken, Marshall, Graves, and Ballard Counties, as well as Massac County, Illinois. There are also representatives from the EPA and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The volunteers serve up to three two-year terms.

(Photo courtesy of the US Department of Energy - The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) recently took part in a tour of the depleted uranium hexafluoride (DUF6) conversion facility at EM's Paducah Site, where they continued their education on operations and processing of the DUF6 conversion facility. From left are Jim Barker, Mid-America Conversion Services program director for the Paducah DUF6 facility; Zak Lafontaine, EM DUF6 program manager; William Wessel, CAB member; Hannah Chretien, CAB member; Eric Butterbaugh, CAB member; Eric Roberts, CAB staff; Don Barger, CAB member; Fran Johnson, CAB member; Robert "Buz" Smith, EM strategic planner; Mike Kemp, CAB member; Bill Murphy, CAB member; and Hayly Wiggins, CAB staff.)