Paducah photographer using skills to document DOE cleanup

A Paducah photographer has been putting his skills to use to document the cleanup at the former Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site.

Dylan Nichols has been documenting the cleanup through his lens since 2011. Often, the information coming from the Department of Energy is complex and not easily understood. That's where Nichols comes in. His photos make the descriptions of the work much clearer. In fact, a photo by Nichols will be on the cover of the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management 2023 Year in Review. 

Nichols, who studied photojournalism at Western Kentucky University, said his favorite part of the job is capturing "photos that can effectively tell the success stories of the projects and simplify complex challenges to effectively communicate with our stakeholders."

He stressed that he wants to tell the story of the people at the site and the pride they take in their work.

"My goal is to emphasize the human element, which is crucial to the success of the cleanup mission, in my photographs. It makes it all worth it when people share how excited they are to see their projects featured in photographs and it helps the whole site to connect their work to the success of a project."

Nichols said he is looking forward to upcoming projects including the demolition of the site's high pressure water tower and continued work to deactivate the C-333 Process Building, one of four on the site that will be demolished. 

For more on Dylan Nichols and his photograhs, click here.

Photos courtesy of Dylan Nichols and the Department of Energy 

Gabe Puckett, deactivation maintenance mechanic with Paducah Site deactivation and remediation contractor Four Rivers Nuclear Partnership, installs welding curtains on the dust collection system in Unit 6 Cell 3 of the C-333 Process Building during Phase II construction of the Material-Sizing Area. This photo was selected as the front cover image on EM’s 2023 Year in Review.