“FALLOUT”

For decades, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has denied any connection between the
Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS). a massive uranium enrichment plant in Southern Ohio and
radioactive contamination, cancer and death in the Appalachian communities that surround it. While
people living around PORTS believed the plant was connected to the cancer and death in their
communities, they had no way of proving it. Worse than that, they believed no one cared.

WKRC-TV’S on-going investigative series, “Fallout” provided real data, documents and proof
these families desperately need, along with the hope of knowing they are no longer alone.

SUMMARY OF OUR SERIES

WKRC-TV’s Chief Investigative Reporter Duane Pohlman began airing his “Fallout” stories in
2020, documenting the tragic stories of cancer and death, highlighting a middle school that was closed
because of radioactive contamination, connecting the contamination to PORTS, and revealing the
county where PORTS is located has the highest cancer rate in the state.

In 2022 (which we are submitting as our entry), our “Fallout” investigation culminated with a powerful
series of reports, proving:

• Dangerously high levels of enriched uranium traveled much farther from PORTS than what the
government admits.
• A shocking number of excessive deaths are happening in the county surrounding the plant.
• Large amounts of radioactive material, shipped from Russia to PORTS during the “Megatons to
Megawatt” program, was contained at least trace amounts of deadly plutonium that has
contaminated the plant and community.

REACTION

Our series triggered U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan to hold meetings and write a letter to the U.S. Secretary
of Energy, demanding answers. It also caused U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, who is chair of the powerful
Senate Energy Committee, to visit the plant and people in the communities surrounding it to learn first-
hand the issues we raised in our reports.

After Pohlman crawled into the attic of home 10 miles from PORTS to collect dust, which was
tested and found to be contaminated with dangerously high amounts of enriched uranium, Rep. Ryan
also issued a statement, saying in part: “This new report … raises serious concerns around DOE’s testing
methodology and handling of radioactive materials around PORTS.”

US Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) also issued a statement, saying, “It is unacceptable for any
Ohio family to have to worry about getting sick in the place they’re supposed to be safest – their
home. I’m concerned about these new reports that show radioactive particles in a house four miles
outside of the zone where the Department of Energy (DOE) is testing for radioactive activity. The DOE
now needs to be transparent and accountable – especially for this community that has been struggling
for 50 years.”
Congressman Ryan also wrote this letter to WKRC-TV’s Duane Pohlman (below), ending with “…you have
demonstrated how a free press is essential to a healthy democracy.”