“Fallout from Russia”

Summary of our Investigation

In 2022, WKRC-TV's Chief Investigative Reporter, Duane Pohlman's continuing
investigation of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) - a massive Cold
War-era, uranium enrichment plant in southern Ohio - and its connection to
radioactive contamination culminated in “Fallout from Russia.”
This powerful series of reports, proving deadly plutonium was included in
radioactive shipments from Russia to PORTS as part of the “Megatons to
Megawatts” program, which likely explains some of the contamination and highly-
elevated cancers and death surrounding the plant.
Our reporting was a stimulus for U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia) to tour
PORTS and hold a community meeting and our findings prompted U.S. Rep. Tim
Ryan (D-Ohio) to call for meetings and demand answers from U.S. Secretary of
Energy, Jennifer Granholm.
Government demands retraction
We faced a significant challenge and perceived threat after airing our first story
about plutonium in the radioactive shipments from Russia. Within hours, we
received an email from DOE and the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA),
accusing us of “gross inaccuracies,” “misrepresentation of the facts,” and that we
had been “unfair” by not allowing DOE enough time to respond, even though we
sent numerous, detailed emails requesting comment weeks before the story aired.
In a conference call that followed with Chief Investigative Reporter Duane
Pohlman, News Director Tim Geraghty, SBG General Counsel Chase Bales, DOE
Director of External Affairs Stephen Clutter, Acting Assistant to the Secretary of
Defense for Public Affairs, Gordon Trowbridge was irate, raising his voice many
times, reiterating the accusations in the email, while claiming our story had
damaged our country’s relationship with Russia, which had just invaded Ukraine.
Trowbridge demanded we retract our story. When Pohlman asked what
Trowbridge believed was not factual about our report, he stated emphatically that
no plutonium was shipped from Russia. Pohlman and Geraghty pointed out that our
story made no such claim but relied on the government’s own documents to prove
the Russian material was contaminated with plutonium. Trowbridge responded by
admitting some plutonium could have been included in the Russian shipments but
insisted there was no threat to health and safety.
When asked to provide documents that would back his claim – including all testing
data of the Russian material that Pohlman had already requested in writing –
Trowbridge at first vehemently declined, insisting that he did not have to prove
anything. After reminding him that we based our reporting on documentation,
Trowbridge did an about-face and told us that he would provide “tons of
documents.” (We have not received one document following the phone conference)
Finally, in a stunning moment, Trowbridge said he was a former and knew
Pohlman and his work from his time as a journalist (at the Detroit News) and as a
fellow member of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE). He then told Pohlman
that his work had “slipped,” falling to “a new low’ in his career. Pohlman replied
that this investigation is among “The best work I’ve aired.”
By the end of the conversation, Trowbridge could only argue that Pohlman’s story
had “created a perception” that only plutonium was being shipped. We disagreed
but tweaked our language in future stories to ensure clarity.
Our management, including General Manager Jon Lawhead, News Director Tim
Geraghty, Group News Director Jamie Justice, and corporate General Counsel Chase
Bales gave Pohlman full support to continue airing stories, which included another
report that ran less than two weeks later, laying out more proof of the plutonium in
Russian shipments, as well as details of some of the Russian facilities where the
radioactive shipments originated. That story also included an exclusive interview
with a Russian political dissident living in Paris, who described, in haunting detail,
the radioactive contamination from Mayak, the once-secret Soviet plutonium
processing facility that played a key role in the radioactive shipments from Russia to
PORTS.
Impact of our investigation so far
After airing the first story about plutonium contamination in the Russian
shipments, U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (D) Ohio, called Chief Investigative
Reporter Duane Pohlman to congratulate him on his work, calling the story
“shocking.”
Rep. Ryan, who was running for U.S. Senate, then called for a special meeting with
city and county leaders and DOE representatives in Piketon, OH days after our
second story to discuss several matters related to PORTS, including the plutonium
issues that we raised in our reporting.
As Pohlman was about to be escorted into the meeting, Ike White, a senior advisor
for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Environmental Management
tried to exit through a side door.
Pohlman and photographer Eric Frisbee caught up with him, finally getting an
opportunity to ask real questions of a high-level DOE official.
While White told us he was not aware of plutonium in the Russian shipments, he
walked away from Pohlman when asked directly whether plutonium was present at
the plant.
White’s refusal to answer the question was shown in a follow-up story, along with
documents that proved plutonium had indeed contaminated PORTS.
Rep. Ryan then directed his staff to follow up with Pohlman to assist in drafting a
letter to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, requesting detailed data and
documents about the contamination surrounding PORTS raised in our investigation.
The letter was sent on October 5th.
Rep. Ryan also reached out to U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D) West Virginia, Chair of
the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to discuss the findings of
our investigation and request he visit Pike County.
On October 20th, Sen. Manchin joined Congressman Ryan, touring a middle school
that was closed because of radioactive contamination and holding a meeting with
local elected leaders, school officials and parents of cancer victims.
After the meeting, Sen. Manchin talked with Pohlman, promising to get answers
from DOE, even if it means holding hearings in Washington.
Congressman Ryan lost his bid for Senate, but he and his staff have remained in
contact with Pohlman, assisting in our investigation and facilitating Sen. Manchin in
his demand for answers.
 We intend to place much of our efforts in 2023 focusing on the efforts of Sen.
Brown and Sen. Manchin to obtain real data, documents, and answers from DOE.
Former U.S. Rep. Ryan is promising to continue providing help, as well.