PORTSMOUTH — Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security (PRESS) and the American Nuclear Activist Alliance are urgently calling on the Senate Energy Committee to conduct hearings on the severe property contamination and alarming cancer prevalence in Pike and Scioto Counties in Ohio.
“The contamination is well documented. We have the scientific studies and the documents to prove the Department of Energy’s criminal actions. Pike County has the highest cancer rate in the state of Ohio. It’s because of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant,” said Jason Salley, founder of the American Nuclear Activist Alliance.
In 2019, extensive scientific investigative work undertaken by Dr. Michael Ketterer, emeritus chemistry professor from Northern Arizona University, including dust samples taken from the interior of Zahn’s Corner Middle School, confirmed the presence of high-enriched uranium isotopes chemically identified as emissions from PORTS. Within a six-mile radius of PORTS there have been hundreds of verified instances of americium-241, neptunium-237, plutonium-238, plutonium-239, plutonium-240, technetium-99, uranium-233, uranium-234, uranium-235, uranium-236, and uranium-238.
The Scioto Valley School District board, in a sensible decision, permanently closed Zahn’s Corner Middle School in 2019 out of concerns that children might be suffering adverse health effects from the radioactive contamination of the school and its grounds. The school board formally stated that “the health and safety of staff and students is of paramount importance.” Eleven children who attended the school died of cancer.
On July 15, 2024, Dr. Ketterer released a new study where he had concluded that PORTS transuranic isotopes have been concentrating in plant matter for years in the upland areas alongside the Scioto River and its tributaries, Little Beaver and Big Beaver creeks downstream from the PORTS water drainage outfall.
What was found?
Elevated Neptunium: Soil and sediment samples exhibited neptunium-237 concentrations significantly higher than global fallout levels.
Source Confirmed Isotope ratios definitively link the neptunium to the PGDP, not historical nuclear testing.
Water Contamination: Creek water samples contained neptunium-237, raising concerns about future groundwater contamination.
Plant Uptake: Grasses in the study area showed significant neptunium-237 uptake, raising concerns about the safety of locally grown food.
These findings add to existing community anxieties regarding the PGDP’s environmental legacy.
The historic emissions of various radioactive elements will take from thousands to literally millions of years to decay to harmless background levels. But ongoing and planned new activities at PORTS will add even more radioactivity to the air, land, and water around the facility.
Vina Colley, President of PRESS, emphasized the critical need for immediate action from our leaders to address this public health crisis.
Background
PRESS, founded in the 1980s, is a non-profit organization advocating for the rights of workers and residents harmed by radioactive contamination from the nuclear energy sector. Similarly, Don’t Dump On Us focuses on addressing environmental and public health concerns related to radioactive contamination in affected communities.
The American Nuclear Activist Alliance, founded in 2021, is a collaboration and coalition of like-minded individuals who work to expose the dangers of atomic operations in the United States.
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