PIKETON — Earlier this month, former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant employees and their families came forward with a lawsuit against contractors of the U.S. Department of Energy with allegations of a culture of corruption, misinformation, and endangerment to families across southern Ohio. According to the DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office, the 3,777-acre site operated from 1954 to 2001 and enriched weapons-grade uranium during the Cold War. While working with hazardous, radioactive materials, the suit claims safety measures were insufficient causing exposure and subsequent bodily injuries and diseases. “The United States Department of Energy and its contractors, through their criminal acts, negligence,...