Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, X-626-2 Cooling Tower, 3930 U.S. Route 23 South, Piketon, Pike County, OH. Surveyed as HAER OH-142-U, with a 1,586-word written history.
“The Cooling Tower has been identified as a historic processing support facility at PORTS.”
Written record, HAER OH-142-U survey. Machine-read text.
surveyed by the federal HAER program as HAER OH-142-U · the record runs 1586 words · one of 30 surveyed structures published for this county.
Source document Quoted word for word from HAER OH-142-U. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.
Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS), U.S. Route 23 South, Piketon vicinity, Scioto Township, Pike County, Ohio The Cooling Tower is located at Ohio State Plane South coordinates at easting ft, northing ft and at Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 17N easting m, northing m. The coordinate represents the approximate center of the Cooling Tower. This coordinate was obtained on June 19, by plotting its location in EnvironInsite The accuracy of the coordinates is +/- 12 meters. The coordinate datum is North American Datum Date of Construction: Designer/Builder: Peter Kiewit Sons Construction Company Previous Owner: N/A
Source document Quoted word for word from HAER OH-142-U. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.
The Atomic Energy Commission oversaw construction and operation of PORTS until when the Energy Research and Development Administration was established with responsibility for research and development duties from In the U.S. Department of Energy was established, overseeing operations at PORTS.
Source document Quoted word for word from HAER OH-142-U. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.
The Cooling Tower has been identified as a historic processing support facility at PORTS. Although only the Cooling Tower is the focus of this HAER documentation, both the Cooling Tower and the related Recirculating Water Pump House were part of the Recirculating Cooling Water system. The RCW system was integral to the gaseous diffusion process, as it eliminated heat generated during plant enrichment operations. The Cooling Tower is part of PORTS, which was a part of the U.S. Cold War nuclear weapons complex. PORTS primary Cold War era mission was the production of highly enriched uranium by the gaseous diffusion process for defense/military purposes.
Source document Quoted word for word from HAER OH-142-U. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.
Fluor B&W Portsmouth LLC photographed the site in August Gray & Pape, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, served as the primary author of the historical narrative and resource descriptions drawing from numerous historical records and reports, drawings, photographs and plans. For additional contextual information, see Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, HAER no. OH-142. This Cooling Tower HAER was completed in PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 2) Part I. Historical Information In support of this report, there are three appendices that are provided: Appendix A through C, which consist of survey photographs, historical photographs, and historical drawings, respectively.
Construction History of the RCW System: Peter Kiewit Sons Company subcontracted Merritt, Chapman & Scott Corporation of New York City for construction of the Pump House, the Cooling Tower basin, piping, and other components. The Marley Company, of Overland Park, Kansas, manufactured and erected the Cooling Tower and much of its associated equipment. Excavation activities for the cooling tower basin commenced in October Workers completed all excavation activities for the cooling tower basin and the Pump House in November Contractors replaced 560 cubic yards of unstable bearing soil with gravel and concrete. A total of cubic yards of earth was excavated. Structural concrete work transpired from January to August (Appendix B, Figures 4 through 7).
Contractors poured approximately cubic yards of concrete. In June the Crawford Steel Corporation, of Cincinnati, Ohio, erected 45 tons of structural steel. Contractors completed all work for the RCW Pump House and Cooling Tower by December Historical drawings of building plans are provided in Appendix C (Figures 8 through Part II. Site Information Description of the Recirculating Water Pump House And Cooling Tower: The RCW facility consisted of the Recirculating Water Pump House and the Cooling Tower. The Cooling Tower has been identified as a historic processing support facility at PORTS. Although only the Cooling Tower is the focus of this documentation, both the Cooling Tower and Recirculating Water Pump House operated together to remove process heat sent from the Process Building.
The Recirculating Water Pump House and Cooling Tower are located in the south- central section of PORTS, just south of the Process Building. The RCW system includes the Recirculating Water Pump House; Cooling Tower; a 2.2-million-gallon wet well basin; and piping that extends to and from the Process Building. The RCW system removed heat from the process gas, as well as waste heat from a few auxiliary processes. Excess energy was removed and dissipated by a double-loop system designed to reduce the possibility of a large amount of water contacting the process gas. The Cooling Tower dissipated this heat to the atmosphere in the form of water vapor. Within the cooling tower, a forced draft moved cool, atmospheric air across the heated water.
The vapor created by this process dissipated into the air or fell to the ground downwind of the facility. The quantity of water vapor exiting the tower, known as drift, was dependent upon weather conditions. The cooled recirculating cooling water accumulated in a basin below the tower. PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 3) The Recirculating Water Pump House stands one story tall and encompasses square feet. A utilitarian building, the Pump House features steel frame walls clad with corrugated cement asbestos panels (Appendix A, Figures 1 through 3). A flat roof covers the building. There are lower profile wings on the north and south facades, which are primarily used to house equipment.
The main building features banded window openings with industrial steel sash. The Pump House sits above a reinforced concrete reservoir that serves as a wet well. A concrete pad, located to the north of the building, supports four power transformers. The Pump House houses seven pumps, which are located near the center of the building. The Cooling Tower follows a rectangular plan. Built with a steel frame, this utilitarian structure sits above a reinforced concrete basin, which forms portions of the tower s foundation. The basin measures approximately long by 90' wide by 18' deep. The tower itself measures approximately long by 88' wide by 44' high. The walls of the tower are clad with redwood louvers.
The tower s flat roof supports walkways, eight fan openings and discharge collars, and other mechanical equipment. Wooden stairways, located on the east and west sides of the tower, provide access to the roof. The series of eight fans are arranged in two rows of four fans. The fans provided the circulation necessary for cooling water as it moved from troughs and the baffled interior of the tower. Cooled water flowed into the basin below the structure. PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 4) Part III. Sources of Information Department of Energy. The Role of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Cold War History. Piketon, OH: U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Energy.
Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Report for the Process Buildings and Complex Facilities Decontamination and Decommissioning Evaluation Project at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Piketon, Ohio, DOE/PPPO/03-0245&D3. Piketon, OH: U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Energy. Historical Narrative for the Recirculating Cooling Water Complex, Revision 1, Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Piketon, Ohio. Washington, U.S. Department of Energy, Department of Energy. National Historic Preservation Act Section 110 Survey of Architectural Properties at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Scioto and Seal Townships, Piketon, Ohio, DOE/PPPO/03-0147&D1. Piketon, OH: U.S. Department of Energy, January Department of Energy.
Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis for the and Recirculating Cooling Water Complexes at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Piketon, Ohio, DOE/PPPO/03- Piketon, OH: U.S. Department of Energy, November Giffels & Vallet, Inc. Gaseous Diffusion Plant at Portsmouth, Ohio, Project History and Completion Report (Redacted). Washington, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 5) Appendix A: Survey Photographs Figure 1: Location and Orientation of Exterior Photographs (1 and 3) PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No.
OH-142-U (Page 6) Figure 2: North Side of the Cooling Tower, August Facing Southeast Figure 3: South Side of the Cooling Tower, August Facing Northwest PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 7) Appendix B: Historical Photographs Figure 4: The Recirculating Cooling Water System, Looking West at the Cooling Tower, January Figure 5: The Recirculating Cooling Water System, Looking West at the Cooling Tower, February PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 8) Figure 6: The Recirculating Cooling Water System, Looking West at the Pump House, February Figure 7: The Recirculating Cooling Water System, Looking West at the Cooling Tower, March PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No.
OH-142-U (Page 9) Appendix C: Historical Drawings Figure 8: Pump House Schedules and Details PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 10) Figure 9: Pump House First Floor Plan PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 11) Figure 10: Pump House Transformer Firewalls PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 12) Figure 11: Pump House Roof Plan PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 13) Figure 12: Pump House Roof Plan PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 14) Figure 13: Pump House Elevations PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No.
OH-142-U (Page 15) Figure 14: Pump House Sections PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 16) Figure 15: Pump House Wall Details PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 17) Figure 16: Cooling Tower Structural Plan and Elevations PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 18) Figure 17: Cooling Tower Distribution System Plan PORTSMOUTH GASEOUS DIFFUSION PLANT, COOLING TOWER HAER No. OH-142-U (Page 19) Figure 18: Area Plans
| Piketon, Ohio | The place record: every map, photograph and survey of this town. |
| Pike County, Ohio | 83 topographic sheets across the county. |
| Library of Congress record | The original filed report as the survey filed it. |
The federal surveyors worked through Piketon building by building. These are the other structures they measured and filed a report on, longest report first.
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