| August 1952 |
U.S. government selects Pike County site for
new Portsmouth uranium enrichment plant. |
| September 1952 |
U.S. officials select Goodyear Tire &
Rubber Corporation as plant operator; and Goodyear creates Goodyear Atomic Corporation to
operate plant. |
| September 1954 |
First production cells go
"onstream." |
| March 1956 |
Contractors complete entire Portsmouth plant
six months ahead of schedule and full production begins. |
| Mid-1960s |
Plant shifts from military mission to
commercial application to supply enriched uranium to electric utilities operating nuclear
power plants. |
| January 1975 |
NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and the
Energy Research and Development Agency (ERDA) assume AEC functions. NRC takes over
regulatory oversight of nuclear power plants and ERDA, which would later be absorbed by
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), assumes
responsibility for uranium enrichment. |
| October 1977 |
Government transfers ERDA functions to newly
created DOE. |
| November 1986 |
Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc. takes
over Goodyear's operating contract for plant. |
| November 1992 |
Energy Policy Act creates USEC to take over
government's uranium enrichment enterprise. |
| July 1993 |
USEC assumes responsibility for Paducah,
Kentucky, and Portsmouth, Ohio, uranium enrichment plants. DOE retains responsibility for
environmental restoration and waste management activities resulting from its operations at
site. |
| July 1993 |
USEC contracts with Martin Marietta Utility
Services, a newly created subsidiary of Martin Marietta, for operation and maintenance of
enrichment plants. |
| June 1995 |
Lockheed Martin Corporation forms after
merger of Lockheed and Martin Marietta corporations. Lockheed Martin Utility Services,
Inc. (LMUS) continues operation of USEC's Paducah plant. |
| June 1995 |
First shipment to USEC of Russian low
enriched uranium derived from highly enriched uranium taken from nuclear warheads arrives
at Portsmouth plant as part of historic Megatons-to-Megawatts contract. |
| November 1995 |
USEC revises and renews operating contract
with LMUS from cost-plus to performance-based contract. |
| November 1996 |
NRC grants certificates of compliance for
USEC's two enrichment plants. |
| March 1997 |
Regulatory oversight of enrichment plants
officially transfers from DOE to NRC. |
| July 1998 |
USEC is privatized; becomes USEC Inc, an
investor-owned corporation. |
| May 1999 |
USEC takes over direct operation of
Portsmouth GDP. |
| June 2000 |
USEC announces plan to consolidate all enrichment activity at Paducah by June 2001. |
| May 2001 |
USEC ceases enrichment activities at Portsmouth plant. Portsmouth continues to provide transfer and shipping functions. |
| June 2002 |
USEC completes consolidation of transfer and shipping operations at Paducah. |
| November 2002 |
Portsmouth plant recognized as an ANS Nuclear Historic Landmark by the American Nuclear Society. |
| December 2002 |
USEC announces that it will site its American Centrifuge Demonstration Facility in Piketon. |
| January 2004 |
USEC announces the selection of Piketon as the site for its future American Centrifuge Plant. This commercial uranium enrichment facility is planned to have an annual production level of 3.8 million SWU. |
