SUMMARY

Construction of a radioactive landfill in Pike County Ohio, overseen by the U.S. Department of Energy, is underway despite warnings from multiple former DOE officials that the areas history of flash flooding poses risk of a major radioactive emergency. The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, known as PORTS, was built in the 1950s to store uranium for Cold War Era bombs. Today, a $650m DOE project is underway to bury that radioactive waste in Pike County, which gets nearly 4ft of rain each year.

URANIUM FOUND ON SCHOOL DESKS (2019)

This health crisis gained national attention in May 2019, when enriched uranium (U-235) and neptunium-237—radioisotopes tied to PORTS—were detected inside Zahn’s Corner Middle School, 4 miles from the site. Northern Analytical Services found uranium on school desks, prompting the school’s closure and displacing 300 students (Northern Analytical Services, May 2019, *Air and Swipe Sample Analysis Report*).

SHOCKING CANCER RATES IN PIKE COUNTY

Pike County’s cancer rates have surged dramatically since PORTS began uranium enrichment in the 1950s, a trend that underscores the region’s vulnerability to further contamination. In the 1950s and 1960s, when the plant opened, Pike County’s cancer death rate was 12% *below* the national average.

By 2019–2020, it had skyrocketed to 32.8% *above* the national average—a staggering shift documented in a 2022 epidemiological study by Joseph Mangano, commissioned by the Ohio Nuclear Free Network (Local 12 News, November 16, 2022, *New Study Reveals 'Shocking' Number of Deaths in Southern Ohio County*). This reversal, spanning the decades of PORTS’ operations, raises inescapable questions about the plant’s role in regional health declines.

WHAT'S THE ALTERNATIVE?

The concerns surrounding the PORTS landfill iare further amplified by warnings from former DOE officials with firsthand experience in nuclear waste management.

Anne White, who previously served as the DOE's Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management, has been vocal in her opposition of the project. In an interview with Local 12, she asserted that the landfill's placement in Pike County is fundamentally flawed due to the area's substantial rainfall--averaging nearly four feet annually.

White strongly advocated for relocating the waste to Utah, specifically to an existing low-level radioactive waste facility near Salt Lake City. She emphasized Utah's dry climate minimizes water related risks, providing a naturally safer containment environment for hazardous materials.

WHAT THE EPA CAN DO

1. Reassess the Record of Decision: Commission an independent review of hydrological risks and cancer trends, integrating Mangano’s findings and updated flood models.

2. Require a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement: Mandate the DOE to address the 1950s-to-present cancer surge, the 2019 incident—omitted from the 2011 EIS, and water table and flash flood risk in Pike County.

3. Enforce Clean Water Act Protections Investigate Ohio River threats under Section 404, halting construction if the risks are confirmed.

 

We, the undersigned, hereby demand the EPA thoroughly investigate, and take all appropriate actions, to address this emergency.