Buried beneath decades of federal silence and sanitized reports lies a brutal truth: the U.S. government knowingly launched radioactive gas into the skies of southern Ohio. They called them “purge vents.” The workers called them “Midnight Rockets.” What they really were: deliberate, unfiltered releases of radioactive fallout.
Now, for the first time, a trail of declassified documents, eyewitness testimony, and modern environmental testing reveals the full scope of a Cold War-era operation that silently poisoned communities for decades.
The Smoking Gun: DOE's Own Documents
In 1985, a classified report authored by Goodyear Atomic — the Department of Energy’s contractor at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS) — confirmed the intentional design of atmospheric vents for the release of radioactive materials. The document detailed how radioactive gases containing technetium-99 and uranium hexafluoride (UF6) were vented from the X-326 building, through an interconnected system of air jet eductors, and launched into the sky via a 164-foot stack known as the "Tall Stack."
Portsmouth - Independent Investigation of Past Environment, Safety and Health Practices - Vol. 1
“The potential for the loss of significant amounts of high-assay material from the purge cascades warrants the redundant accountability monitoring systems presently installed on the discharge of ‘C’ Jet,” the 1985 report reads. That jet was directly piped into the Tall Stack.
Sampling systems, even by DOE's own admission, were incapable of capturing accurate data during high-flow events. Worse, traps used to filter uranium gases degraded over time. Technetium-99 — a long-lived fission product — slipped through completely. DOE stated in their own documents that emission controls had a zero-95% efficiency rating.
Emergency release valves, such as the “D Jet,” bypassed filtration entirely.
The 1994 Confirmation: 85.9% of Emissions
Nearly a decade later, a 1994 National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) report revealed that 85.9% of all radioactive airborne emissions from PORTS came directly from the purge cascades in X-326. Of that, 27% came from Department of Energy operations — not private contractors. The DOE operations included purging the cascade of high-enriched uranium (HEU). In other words, purging the cascade of nuclear weapons-grade material.
The same report confirmed continued use of the Tall Stack and reaffirmed that technetium-99, uranium particles, and other radionuclides were regularly released into the atmosphere.
1998 report also describing the tall stack and the technical aspects of the "Midnight Rockets."
The First Media Break: 1986 Headline
A newspaper article from August 8, 1986, published in The Evening Review, reported that “an undetermined amount of uranium was accidentally released” at the PORTS plant and that Goodyear Atomic “would sample soil around the plant to determine whether there was any environmental damage.” It was the first time the Midnight Rockets made the press — though the phrase didn’t appear in the story.
The company didn’t know how much uranium was released. They had no real-time monitoring. The only plan was to measure contamination after the release occurred.
Community Fallout: Yellow Snow and Dust
For decades, residents near the plant reported strange environmental conditions — yellow snow in the winter, metallic-tasting air, and mysterious yellow dust on vehicles and porches. At the time, there was no official acknowledgment.
But now, those stories align with the documents and with the building’s known layout: the purge cascades were the last stop before uranium product withdrawal. The Tall Stack was the final exhaust point.
Whistleblower Tells All In Federal Lawsuit
In a federal whistleblower lawsuit filed in 2020, a former employee of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant directly referenced the “Midnight Rockets” — the long-rumored and now-documented release of radioactive gases into the air. The suit, brought by multiple former workers in the Southern District of Ohio, accuses nuclear fuel contractors and the U.S. Department of Energy of knowingly venting uranium hexafluoride (UF₆), transuranics, heavy metals, and other hazardous substances from the rooftops of PORTS buildings. The plaintiffs allege that this wasn’t an accident — it was routine. The lawsuit outlines a pattern of intentional atmospheric releases, contamination of surrounding communities, and a resulting public health crisis marked by cancers, illness, and environmental degradation in Pike, Scioto, and nearby counties. The case, known as Walburn et al. v. Centrus Energy Corp. et al., claims these actions constitute criminal misconduct and gross negligence.
Modern Proof: The 2023 Independent Testing
In 2023, a Human Health Risk Assessment (HHRA) funded through Ohio University and carried out by Auxier & Associates confirmed the worst fears. Independent testing of soil, water, and dust downwind of PORTS revealed radioactive contamination.
Technetium-99 levels reached 6.9 picocuries per gram in off-site samples. Plutonium-238 was found in both dust and water.
The spatial pattern of contamination followed historical wind direction and fallout dispersion models, all pointing back to the Tall Stack.
The Architecture of a Cover-Up
Photos from the 1990s through 2000s show the exact location of the Tall Stack — connected by pipe to X-326, aligned with known venting systems, and standing tall decades after enrichment ceased. DOE never dismantled it. No warning signs were posted. No public fallout maps were created.
And yet the 1985 document admitted: “Emergency purging may be necessary periodically.” The stack was always ready.
DOE admitting the emission controls were only 0–95% effective. Let that sink in. Zero to ninety-five percent.
Portions of a 1996 SAR report detail how a plume of uranium hexafluoride (UF₆) would disperse following a release from the X-326 building.
The Verdict
This is no longer theory. This is documented, verified, and measurable.
The 1985 report confirmed the design and operation.
The 1994 report confirmed the scale.
The 1986 media confirmed early damage.
And the 2023 testing confirmed the fallout.
Southern Ohio didn’t need a bomb dropped on it in order to be nuked!
The Midnight Rockets were real. They were covered up. And the fallout is still here.
MAP SHOWING THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF TECHNETIUM IN PIKE COUNTY
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