DOE Sites

The Department of Energy (DOE) established the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls, Idaho and three gaseous diffusion plants (GDP) at: the K-25 Complex at Oak Ridge, Tennessee; the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Paducah, Kentucky; and the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Portsmouth, Ohio. At each of the GDPs, uranium hexafluoride gas (UF6) was "enriched"; meaning the relative amount of uranium-235 isotope was increased. This was accomplished by moving UF6 through a multi-stage series of porous membrane "barriers." This enriched UF6 was a necessary ingredient in nuclear weapons production and is now used in the civilian nuclear power industry.

In 2003, the Worker Health Protection Program added two new medical screening sites to its program: the Oak Ridge National Laboratories (ORNL) and Y-12 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Two years later, two closure sites were added to WHPP: Fernald in Harrison, Ohio and Mound in Miamisburg, Ohio. In 2011, the Nevada Test Site (NTS), Lawrence Livermore National Lab (LLNL), Lawrence Berkley National Lab (LBNL), and Sandia/CA National Lab were added, bringing the total number of sites to thirteen.