The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP) was constructed in 1952 to produce enriched uranium, initially for the nation’s nuclear weapons program and later for nuclear fuel for commercial power plants. The plant is owned by DOE, which oversees environmental cleanup activities at the site, including environmental remediation, waste management, depleted uranium conversion, and decontamination and decommissioning. The DOE Environmental Management program has conducted extensive cleanup activities at the site since the late 1980s and is currently deactivating the returned plant facilities while continuing its aggressive remediation program.
VNSFS’ work at Paducah is divided into three main categories:
Lab: Our employees support various projects across the plant, including Nuclear Criticality Safety, Non-Destructive Assay (NDA) and environmental compliance.
NDA: Our NDA Technicians were involved in the development of the Converter Measurement System, a high-profile project and the first of its kind in the DOE complex. The system allows large components to be characterized without being removed from the process buildings and is expected to greatly improve the efficiency of characterizing large component systems.
Other NDA Techs perform visual and video inspections through the use of camera probes and robot crawlers. We also manage the Characterization Criticality Incredible Database – the repository for all documentation related to the characterization of various components.
Engineering: VNSFS engineers in Paducah serve as technical support for many different projects and groups. Civil and Mechanical Engineers do design reviews, engineering evaluations and inspection reports. These engineers have played a key role in ensuring critical Performance-Based Initiatives were completed, including the landfill expansion project.
VNSFS also performed the Information Technology & Cyber Security Services scope at the PGDP, providing IT support to more than 1,200 users, including more than 1,000 PCs, 100 laptops, 200 servers (including stand-alone and virtual servers), 30 networked locations, and 35 supported applications.