The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, located in Piketon, Ohio, began operations in 1954 as part of a U.S. government expansion program for the production of highly enriched uranium to fuel military reactors and nuclear weapons production.

Later, the Piketon plant, along with its sister enrichment plant in Paducah, Kentucky, took on a different mission: the production of low-enriched uranium to fuel commercial nuclear power plants around the world. Both plants are owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

In May 2001, the company ceased uranium enrichment operations in Piketon and consolidated operations in Paducah. The Piketon plant was de-leased back to DOE in September 2011.