WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Rob Portman (R-OH) have formally invited Secretary of Energy Rick Perry to visit the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio to see firsthand the decontamination and decommissioning operations. In the letter to Perry, the Senators expressed appreciation for the Secretary's commitment to visiting the Plant and working with the Senators to manage the cleanup at the site. The decontamination and decommissioning work at Piketon employs roughly 1,800 people.
“Ohio workers at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant have spent their careers readying this site for future use and they deserve the full support of President Trump’s administration to finish the job,” said Brown. “I hope Secretary Perry will visit the Piketon plant to see these workers in action and work with Senator Portman and me to maintain these jobs in southern Ohio.”
“The cleanup and redevelopment of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant is critical for jobs, economic development, and the future of southern Ohio,” Portman stated. “I look forward to showing Secretary Perry the ongoing work happening at the facility as well as its capabilities, and the role it could continue to play in our national security.”
Text of the letter can be found below.
The Honorable Rick Perry
Secretary of Energy
U.S. Department of Energy
1000 Independence Ave. SW
Washington, DC 20585
Dear Secretary Perry:
Congratulations on your confirmation as the U.S. Secretary of Energy. We both appreciated our discussions during your confirmation process regarding the Department of Energy’s cleanup of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, Ohio, and the importance of having a domestic capability to enrich uranium to meet our national security needs.
We would like to formally invite you to Piketon, Ohio, to see firsthand the decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) work being at the site as well as existing technology also at the site that could play a key role in future domestic uranium enrichment efforts..
Thank you for making the commitment to come to Piketon during your confirmation hearing, and for your willingness to work with us on managing the cleanup at the site. We were also encouraged by your comments that having domestic uranium enrichment capability is a national security issue and we appreciate your commitment to re-evaluating our nation’s uranium enrichment program. Cleanup and redevelopment of this site is critical to long-term economic growth in Southern Ohio.
We appreciate your willingness to serve as Energy Secretary, and for your commitment to visiting the Piketon site. We look forward to working with you, and to hosting you as our guest when you come to Southeastern Ohio.
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