Sep 4, 2017 1 min read

PIKETON, Ohio (AP) — A newly formed citizen group pledges to fight federal plans to store contaminated waste in southern Ohio from the cleanup of a Cold War-era uranium plant.

The Chillicothe Gazette reports more than 100 people gathered for a recent meeting of the Citizens Against Radioactive Dump.

The group opposes a plan by the Department of Energy to create an on-site disposal facility at the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant.

Federal officials say the facility would save money for the cleanup of low-level waste. However, an environmental report commissioned by the village of Piketon says there is cracked bedrock in the area and waste would put groundwater at risk.

Both the citizen group and Piketon officials are critical of the U.S. Energy Department. No representatives from the department attended the meeting.