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DOE urged to move quickly on PGDP cleanup

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Kentucky's U.S. Senators Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul, along with 1st District U.S. Congressman Ed Whitfield, are warning federal energy officials any delays in cleaning up the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site would endanger the region's health and economy.  The three Republicans sent a letter to U.S. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz today urging that site cleanup begin and requesting another meeting. They're concerned the DOE might put the plant in a "surveillance and maintenance" status which could mean delays in the decommissioning and decontamination process.  The plant’s previous operator, USEC, announced in May it was ceasing operations at the facility that had employed more than 1,000 workers.  The first round of layoffs, affecting 160 workers, took effect today. More layoffs are expected in October.

Todd Hatton hails from Paducah, Kentucky, where he got into radio under the auspices of the late, great John Stewart of WKYX while a student at Paducah Community College. He also worked at WKMS in the reel-to-reel tape days of the early 1990s before running off first to San Francisco, then Orlando in search of something to do when he grew up. He received his MFA in Creative Writing at Murray State University. He vigorously resists adulthood and watches his wife, Angela Hatton, save the world one plastic bottle at a time.
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