PIKETON, Ohio (AP) -- The federal government is offering public tours for the first time in 60 years of a Cold War-era nuclear weapons facility in southern Ohio.

The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Piketon, about 65 miles south of Columbus, produced enriched uranium until 2001. The first tour on Saturday drew about 40 people.

A U.S. Department of Energy analyst tells the Portsmouth Daily Times ( http://bit.ly/HtW3xs ) the plant was one of the nation's largest construction projects. He says tours allow people to see what it looked like during production.

The site is being decontaminated and decommissioned. The defense department has been working with an energy company to secure funding for a new plant that would enrich uranium for generating electricity at nuclear power plants.

Tours are offered monthly through September. Pre-registration is required.

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Information from: Portsmouth Daily Times, http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com