Pike County’s Nuclear Crossroads | Columbus News

Columbus News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jul 28, 2026 · 1m

Pike County, Ohio, stands at a crossroads: high unemployment and cancer rates meet new nuclear ambitions, sparking fierce local resistance. Once home to the contaminated Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, the county’s history with nuclear energy is fraught with health scares and distrust. Now, federal-private partnerships promise jobs and clean energy for booming data centers—but residents fear repeating past mistakes, especially with vulnerable populations at risk. The debate boils down to a stark choice: economic revival or safeguarding health, with the ghosts of nuclear history watching…