From 1951 until 1989, the Feed Materials Production Center in Fernald, Ohio, about 20 miles northwest of Cincinnati, was a key player in the Cold War, processing uranium for the United States nuclear weapons program.
But in the 1980s you couldn?'t watch or read the news without seeing a story about the environmental issues plaguing the site and causing concern and anger among its neighbors.
When production at Fernald ended, cleanup and environmental remediation began. That work was completed in 2006, and today the site is home to the Fernald Preserve, more than 1,000 acres of wetlands and wildlife habitat.
On October 29, the U.S. Department of Energy will host ?Weapons to Wetlands: A Decade of Difference? to mark the 10th anniversary of the Fernald remediation. Joining us with the story of Fernald and a preview of the anniversary event are Sue Smiley, Fernald Preserve manager for the Department of Energy; Jeff Wagner with Fluor Fernald, a company that provides cleanup of radioactive waste for the Energy Department; and Lisa Crawford, a leader in the effort to close and clean up the plant.