Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant - History - The Portsmouth Project

The Portsmouth Project

In August 1952, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) selected Scioto Township, a rural area occupied by family-owned farms, as the site for a new gaseous diffusion plant to produce highly enriched uranium, U235, for use in military reactors and nuclear weapons production. Located near the junction of the Scioto and Ohio rivers, the site was chosen due to the economic availability of electric energy, availability of water for plant operation, adequate potential labor, suitable transportation facilities, geographic traits, and relative flatness of the topography.

The project was given expedited priority. Due to this prioritization, construction of the site had to start before all the architectural drawings for the site were completed. The Oak Ridge operations of the AEC set up an organization designated "The Portsmouth Area" to direct construction and operation of the plant, select engineers, construction contractors, schedule delivery of critical materials, and any other contingency. Uniform agreements were set up between labor and management to minimize the number of stoppages. Early planning and organization took place in improvised offices in city buildings of Portsmouth, including the National Guard Armory, the Elks City Club, and the old farmhouses on the site itself. Nine architect engineer firms shared in the design of the plant, producing 12,000 design drawings, 40,000 construction drawings, and 16,000 shop drawings. Advanced planning and scheduling were extremely important because the plant was designed to go into operation, or "on stream," as soon as each unit or segment in a process building was completed while construction continued in other parts of the building.

Groundbreaking for the plant was November 18, 1952. Earthmovers began leveling the rolling farmland for the building foundations on the same day. One hundred thousand tons of structural steel, 14,500 tons of reinforcing steel in the concrete floors, 600 miles of process piping and 1,000 miles of copper tubing were used in the construction of the three process buildings. An additional 1,000 miles of tubing ran through the rest of the plant and into the control rooms. Five hundred thousand cubic yards of concrete were required to complete the project. To support this, a separate concrete batching plant was constructed on plant site to serve all contractors. It produced 200 cubic yards of concrete per hour. It took 70 million man hours for construction.

Two railroad lines, financing their own work, built spurs into the area to haul in building materials and heavy equipment including 22 miles of track on site. Twenty-five miles of roads were laid in the plant area as well as a seven-mile perimeter road that encircles the plant.

The original estimate for construction was four years at a cost of $1.2 billion. Construction was carried out by Peter Kiewit and Sons of Nebraska at a cost of $750 million. The site was completed several months ahead of schedule at 34 percent below the original cost estimate at a $400 million savings.