Read more at WOUB

The lawsuit regarding the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant highlights a long-running controversy over radioactive contamination and its impact on the local community in Pike County, Ohio.

The Lawsuit and Allegations

• Wrongful Death Claim: Julia Dunham filed a lawsuit alleging her daughter, Cheyenne, died due to medical injuries from exposure to radioactive contamination released by the former uranium enrichment plant.
• History of Exposure: Cheyenne lived near the plant for most of her life, consumed food from a nearby garden, and attended an elementary school and a middle school (Zahn’s Corner) that was later closed due to internal radiation contamination.
• Regulatory Failures: The lawsuit claims the defendants failed to properly dismantle the plant, allowing airborne radiation to spread offsite into buildings, soil, and local waterways.

Medical Consequences

• Severe Illness: Cheyenne was diagnosed with blood clots in her lungs and legs at age 16, as well as GATA2 deficiency, a rare condition leading to bone marrow failure.
• Transplant Rejection: To avoid developing leukemia, she underwent two bone marrow transplants; her body rejected the second, leading to a painful decline and death in 2015.
• Elevated Cancer Rates: The lawsuit cites an epidemiologist’s review finding that the childhood blood cancer rate near the plant was triple that of other randomly selected areas in Ohio.

Environmental Evidence

• Contamination Findings: A study by Northern Arizona University found enriched uranium in surface water, sediment, and interior dust outside the plant site.
• Ongoing Cleanup: While enrichment ended in 2001, a massive cleanup operation for toxic and radioactive materials has been underway since 2011.
• Current Status: The lead defendant, Centrus Energy Corp., has resumed uranium enrichment on a smaller scale at the site to fuel next-generation nuclear reactors.
• Legal Pattern: This is one of several lawsuits filed in recent years by the same attorneys alleging physical harm or death resulting from the plant’s legacy of contamination.
• Public Safety Limits: Recent testing adjacent to the plant reportedly shows radiation levels that exceed federal safety limits for public exposure.