LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 23, 2026) — The University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER), Kentucky Research Consortium for Energy and Environment and UK College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences are collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to characterize past seismic activity and evaluate future seismic hazard at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PDGP).
The Seismic Characterization Project (SCP) is crucial to the future of nuclear energy redevelopment at the PGDP. UK’s SCP partners include world-class subject matter experts from Collier Geophysics, Lettis Consultants International, Kentucky Geological Survey, Explor®, STRYDE, GeoTomo, Chase-Cascade Drilling and Tricord Inc. The DOE Portsmouth Paducah Project Office awarded UK $6.8 million to conduct the investigation and build upon previous seismic studies completed at and near the site. Rodney Andrews, Ph.D., CAER director, serves as principal investigator on the project.
The PGDP is owned by the DOE and was constructed in 1952 as the primary national facility to produce enriched uranium for the nation’s nuclear weapons program and later nuclear fuel for commercial power plants and the nuclear Navy. The PGDP’s uranium enrichment activities ceased in 2014…