Feed Materials Production Center (USDOE)

Overview

The Feed Materials Production Center sits in Fernald, Ohio, and operated from 1951 to 1989 producing uranium metals for the U.S. defense program. It is listed on EPA's National Priorities List as a federal facility under Department of Energy control. The site has not yet been deleted from that list, and the most recent five-year review was completed in September 2021.

Contamination spread across soil, groundwater, surface water, sediment, solid waste, and building structures. Radioactive contaminants include uranium and its isotopes, thorium-230 and thorium-232, radium-226 and radium-228, technetium-99, plutonium, neptunium, americium, strontium, cesium, radon-222, and gamma radioactivity emitters. Chemical contaminants include heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, mercury, and chromium, along with chlorinated solvents like trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene, polychlorinated biphenyls, pesticides including DDT, aldrin, and dieldrin, and various phthalate esters.

A $4.4 billion cleanup ran from 1991 through December 2006. Work was organized into six operable units covering waste pits, other waste units, production areas, four silos, environmental media and groundwater, and an interim action area. Workers removed an estimated 31 million pounds of uranium products, 2.5 billion pounds of waste, and 2.75 million cubic yards of contaminated soil. Two hundred fifty-five buildings and structures were demolished. Groundwater extraction and treatment continue, with the goal of meeting drinking water standards. The contaminated groundwater plume is stabilized in its original area.

EPA's 2021 five-year review found that cleanup actions protect human health and the environment in the short term. Long-term protection depends on continued groundwater cleanup. Human exposure is currently under control across the site, with no unacceptable exposure pathways identified. Institutional controls, including zoning restrictions, prevent residential development and other incompatible land uses. The site reopened to the public in August 2008 as a wildlife park with trails, wetlands, and an environmental education center. The next five-year review is estimated between September and November 2026.

Community members can contact EPA directly with questions. Site documents, including administrative records and key cleanup reports, are available through EPA's Superfund database for public review.