Questions about contamination from Pike County Cold War-era plant continue
CINCINNATI (WKRC) - The massive Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS), which sprawls over a 3,777-acre site, dominates the rural landscape just outside Piketon, Ohio.
The facility, which operated from 1954 to 2001, was once essential to the country, producing enriched uranium for America’s nuclear bombs and fueling the country’s nuclear power.
For many people who live around PORTS, the plant is connected to contamination, cancer, and death.
Duane Pohlman’s four-year investigation, “Fallout,” has documented radioactive contamination, cancer, death, and exposed shipments from Russia that contained at least trace amounts of plutonium.
EXPERTS, SCIENTISTS, AND RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION:
Pohlman has been far from alone in this investigation, relying on insiders and scientists to help him uncover the truth. One of those people is Jeff Walburn, a former top-level anti-terrorism officer and security inspector who worked at PORTS for three decades. He was critical to uncovering the story about Russian shipments of uranium that were contaminated with plutonium and sent to PORTS in the “Megatons-to-Megawatts” program.
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Charles “Chick” Lawson, a former OSHA investigator and union safety officer at the plant, was also important to the investigation. He provided important information and context for the contamination. Meanwhile, scientists, including the former chief scientist at PORTS, Dr. David Manuta, have been crucial to the investigation. Dr. Manuta helped Pohlman understand the processes at the plant while teaching him about radioactivity and contamination. Joe Mangano, a nationally known epidemiologist, provided context for the health consequences, uncovering a “shocking” number of cancer and death rates in Pike and neighboring counties.
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PROFESSOR FOLLOWING “BREADCRUMBS":
No one has been more critical to our “Fallout” investigation than Dr. Michael Ketterer, an environmental chemist who studies radioactive contamination as a professor emeritus at Northern Arizona University. Working in the field and in the lab, Dr. Ketterer has spent five years in the communities surrounding PORTS. He has sampled and analyzed everything from wipes and fillers to water and debris at his lab back in Arizona, often finding tell-tale markers of radioactive contamination.
“I just go here and there and try to see where I can find the breadcrumbs of the contamination out there in the environment,” Dr. Ketterer said in a recent interview in Pike County.
CONTAMINATION CLOSES SCHOOL:
In 2019, Dr. Ketterer worked with Elizabeth Lamerson to pick up the first important “breadcrumb” in the dust collected inside Zahn’s Corner Middle School, which is just four miles from PORTS. When he analyzed the samples, he discovered enriched uranium inside. Meanwhile, an air monitor near the school also picked up Neptunium-237 and Americium-241, both dangerous transuranic particles. These discoveries led to a vote by the Scioto Valley Local School District to close Zahn’s Corner, which remains shuttered to this day.
PICKING UP PARTICLES IN THE AIR:
Dr. Ketterer’s analysis of filters from private air monitors gathered by Lamerson revealed radioactive particles traveling near and far from PORTS, leading to a clear conclusion.
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“The contamination certainly does spread in certain compass directions to a distance of 10 to 15 miles,” Dr. Ketterer said.
THE RADIOACTIVE HOME:
Back in 2022, Pohlman suited up and climbed into the attic of Charles “Chick” Lawson’s home, helping him vacuum dust and debris from the location where previous testing already had confirmed dangerous radioactive contamination to be present.
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Further analysis by Dr. Ketterer revealed enriched uranium and Neptunium-237, both connected to PORTS.
“There are alpha emitting isotopes. You don’t want to breathe them in,” Dr. Ketterer said.
On Lawson’s Porch, Pohlman talked with Lawson, asking him if he feared what was now confirmed to be inside his home.
“Yes, I’m terribly scared,” said Lawson.
LATEST GOVERNMENT REPORT CONCLUDES CONTAMINATION IS “NOT EXPECTED TO HARM PEOPLE’S HEALTH”:
Dr. Ketterer’s findings often contradict the findings of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which oversees the plant. The DOE has consistently sent Local 12 statements over the years, insisting there’s no health threat posed by PORTS.
In the latest report funded by the DOE and published on March 29, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases Registry (ATSDR) released the results of a six-year study that involved more than 10,000 samples of air, soil, sediment, dust, and water in a six-mile radius around PORTS.
It concluded that exposure to “radionuclides,” or radioactive particles in the radius, “isn’t expected to harm people’s health.”
GOVERNMENT RESPONDS TO DR. KETTERER’S FINDINGS:
The ATSDR reported that it also addressed some of Dr. Ketterer’s findings, including the enriched uranium picked up inside Zahn’s Corner Middle School, writing that the concentrations were “below the MDA (Minimum Detectable Activity). It also added that the amounts were “so low that ATSDR wouldn’t expect to see any observable adverse health effects.”
Of the radioactive particles confirmed by Dr. Ketterer in the filters of air monitors, ATSDR stated that the results “weren’t reported as air concentrations.” Because of that, the report stated that the ATSDR “wasn’t able to use the results.” The same conclusion was reached about the radioactive dust collected from Lawson’s attic. The ATSDR again said that it wasn’t able to use the results.
In an interview near PORTS, Dr. Ketterer wasn't phased by the findings in the report.
“DOE is saying everything is good. Within six miles, we find no evidence. And I’m saying, ‘Well, I find your contamination everywhere,” said Dr. Ketterer.
FINDING MORE CONTAMINATED HOMES FARTHER AWAY:
Dr. Ketterer continued to find radioactive contamination, including inside homes much farther away from PORTS than what the ATSDR tested. Up the street from Lawson’s home, Dr. Ketterer confirmed in a report released on Jan. 29, 2024, that he again found enriched uranium in the attic of another one. This time, that home belonged to Shane Pack. Pack said there isn’t a place around the area that’s safe from PORTS.
Even farther from the plant, Dr. Ketterer confirmed enriched uranium in the attic of a home belonging to Keith Shoemaker, who lives 11 miles from PORTS. Shoemaker has battled prostate cancer and skin cancer for the last six years. He believes his illnesses are connected to contamination from PORTS.
“You believe that the contamination led to your cancer?” said Duane Pohlman.
“Yes, I do. Absolutely,” said Shoemaker.
Like many others who live in the communities surrounding PORTS, Shoemaker and Pack said they no longer believe the government and its reports that claim contamination from the plant poses no health risks. When Pohlman told Shoemaker about the latest ATSDR report, Shoemaker had a simple answer.
“They never tested my house,” said Shoemaker.
FULL LIST WITH LINKS TO DUANE POHLMAN’S “FALLOUT” INVESTIGATION:
2020:
Was All-American Zach Farmer’s cancer death connected to ports?
Kids dying and middle school closed
Pike County tops state with “alarming” cancer rates
2021:
Scientists concerned with radioactive fallout from America's nuclear plants
Radioactive rigs: Millions of radioactive loads across the country
Tri-State mother teams up with scientist to uncover the truth -- Part 1
Local mother monitors air, teams-up with scientist to uncover truth -- Part 2
From Tech-99 to the pandemic pause, researcher connects radioactive contamination to ports
2022:
Local 12 Investigation tracks down source of Russian radioactive shipments to Ohio
Rep. Ryan demands answers from U.S. Department of Energy following Local 12 Investigation
Local dads who lost children to cancer react to Local 12 fallout investigation
Senator Manchin joins Congressman Ryan in calling for answers
Congressman Ryan demands answers in wake of Local 12 Investigation
Local 12 Investigation uncovers home riddled with radioactive contamination
New study reveals 'shocking' number of deaths in Southern Ohio county
2023:
The Downwinders: Living and dying in the fallout of Oppenheimer’s bomb
New study reveals wider death zone around Cold War-era plant in Ohio
