General Matter hosts open house on proposed Paducah uranium enrichment facility
FOX23 News at 9 p.m.
PADUCAH, Ky. (KBSI) — Community members are invited to attend an open house Monday, June 8, at the Paducah Innovation Hub to learn more about a proposed uranium enrichment facility planned for the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site and to ask questions about the project’s economic and environmental impacts.
Doors will open at 4:30 p.m., and the public meeting will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
General Matter hosted the open house at the Paducah Innovation Hub as the company moves forward with plans for a $1.5 billion uranium enrichment facility in McCracken County. Company leaders say the project would help strengthen the nation’s domestic nuclear fuel supply while creating jobs and investment in western Kentucky.
The proposed facility would be built on a 100-acre parcel leased from the U.S. Department of Energy at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site.
What General Matter is proposing
General Matter plans to construct a commercial uranium enrichment facility capable of producing fuel for advanced nuclear reactors.
The company announced earlier this year that it signed a lease with the Department of Energy for the reuse of federal property at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant. General Matter estimates the project will create approximately 140 full-time jobs and generate millions of dollars in annual economic activity for the region.
Construction could begin as early as 2026, with enrichment operations projected to start in 2034.
The company was one of four firms selected by the Department of Energy in 2024 to help establish a domestic supply of high-assay low-enriched uranium, commonly known as HALEU. Many advanced reactor designs currently under development will require the fuel.
Why residents are asking questions
While some community members support the potential economic benefits, others have raised concerns about environmental oversight and the site’s long history of contamination.
Residents are raising concerns on social media about water quality, safety protocols and how the proposed project would coexist with ongoing cleanup efforts at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant.
Questions have also focused on whether federal regulators will evaluate the cumulative impacts of multiple industrial projects proposed in and around the site.
The history of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant
The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant operated from 1952 until 2013.
The facility originally enriched uranium for national defense purposes before later producing fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. For decades, the plant served as a major employer and economic driver in western Kentucky.
Environmental investigations conducted during the 1980s identified contamination involving uranium, trichloroethylene, technetium-99 and other hazardous materials in soil, groundwater and surface water.
Federal officials placed the site on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund National Priorities List in 1994, requiring cleanup under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, commonly known as CERCLA.
Ongoing cleanup efforts
Today, the Department of Energy oversees cleanup and decommissioning activities across the site.
Crews continue to demolish former enrichment facilities, remove contaminated materials, manage waste and remediate soil and groundwater contamination. Federal, state and local regulators oversee the work through agreements involving the Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency and Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection.
Officials describe the cleanup as a multi-decade effort expected to continue for decades as workers address contamination from more than 60 years of uranium enrichment operations.
The Department of Energy has also launched a sitewide cleanup strategy known as Decision 2029, which aims to streamline regulatory decisions while supporting future industrial reuse of portions of the property.
What comes next
The project must still navigate regulatory review and permitting requirements before construction can begin.
Community members will have additional opportunities to provide input during upcoming public meetings and future regulatory review processes as the project moves forward.
FOX23’s Tallis Johnson will update this article following Monday night’s meeting.
