Public glimpses machines that fueled bomb

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. - The government is offering a rare glimpse of the massive machines used to enrich uranium for the "Little Boy" bomb - the first atomic weapon used in war, dropped 60 years ago in August on Hiroshima, Japan.

Inside the high-security Y-12 nuclear weapons plant remain the last of 1,152 calutrons that once filled nine buildings. The machinery was part of the top-secret bomb-building Manhattan Project, which turned this rural countryside about 30 miles west of Knoxville into a "secret city" of 75,000 people between 1942 and 1945.

"Don't you know the people in Knoxville wondered what in the world was going on out here," Department of Energy guide Ray Smith said Monday. "All this material was coming in, truckload after truckload, and nothing ever left."

About 50 kilograms of highly enriched uranium were produced in Oak Ridge over a year's time for the Little Boy bomb - all carried in briefcases by plainclothes couriers to Los Alamos, N.M., where the bomb was partially assembled before being moved to Tinian in the Northern Marianas Islands and loaded onto the B-29 Enola Gay for the bomb run over Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.

Many of those questions remain in this still highly classified environment, where today nuclear warhead parts are dismantled and refurbished and bomb-grade uranium is stockpiled.

For the first time, the public will be allowed to see the old calutron machines - devices used for separating out fissionable uranium for reactor fuel or bombs - in tours this weekend as part of Oak Ridge's annual Secret City Festival.

Even many who worked here didn't know exactly what they were working on until the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, killing more than 100,000. Japan surrendered less than a month later.

"I wouldn't have known what an atomic bomb was. I had never heard of it," said Gladys Owens, 80, of Harlan, Ky., who was among scores of young women hired to control electric current in the calutrons on orders from the engineers.

The calutrons separated fissile Uranium 235 for the bomb using huge magnets and vast quantities of electricity from the government-owned Tennessee Valley Authority.

Owens, who was 19 and just out of high school when she worked here from January until August 1945, said she didn't piece together her place in history until she attended the festival last year, saw her picture in the historical displays and was given a private tour.

"Mostly, I thank God the state of Tennessee is still on the map," she said, with a laugh. "Because I was right here at the controls. At 19 years old."

Our mission is to safeguard our country and the world. Y-12’s Nuclear Nonproliferation programs play a critical role in securing our nation and the globe and in combating the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Our contributions include the following:

Removing sensitive materials and equipment from countries such as Libya
Providing peaceful employment for scientists who formerly worked in Soviet weapons facilities
Working to convert the world's research reactors from highly enriched uranium fuel to low-enriched uranium fuel
Providing fuel to research reactors
Downblending weapon-grade material
Disposing of surplus highly enriched uranium in a safe, secure, and environmentally acceptable way

Global Threat Reduction — Y‑12 is uniquely qualified to assist in removing and securing special nuclear threats around the globe. These Y‑12 skills and assets can provide a comprehensive response to radiological and nuclear material vulnerabilities anywhere in the world on short notice. Y‑12 has supported activities in Kazakhstan, Republic of Georgia, Russia, Libya and other countries. For more information, email Morris Hassler or call 865-576-8136. PDF article; PDF article

Material for Peaceful Uses — Y‑12 creates innovative solutions that use weapons‑grade enriched uranium for peaceful uses (e.g., commercial nuclear power, material science, and medical applications). One converted nuclear warhead used in commercial nuclear power can produce enough electricity to power every American home for 2 hours. For more information, email Morris Hassler or call 865-576-8136. PDF article

Material Disposition — In 1994 the United States declared 174 metric tons of highly enriched uranium as surplus to national security needs. The HEU Disposition Program Office at Y‑12 provides technical support, program planning and implementation of the down blending of surplus HEU for the NNSA Office of Fissile Materials Disposition. For more information, email George Singleton or call 865-241-3854.

Highly Enriched Uranium Disposition Program Office — The end of the Cold War left a legacy of weapons‑capable fissile material. As a commitment to nonproliferation, the President of the United States announced on March 1, 1995, that approximately 200 metric tons of fissile material was excess to national security needs. In a subsequent announcement on February 6, 1996, the Secretary of Energy declared that approximately 174 metric tons of the excess fissile material was highly enriched uranium (HEU). This quantity of HEU could theoretically produce nearly 4,300 nuclear warheads. When converted to peaceful use, by down blending to low‑enriched uranium (LEU), this material could supply electricity to every household in the U.S. for a full year. The DOE Office of Fissile Materials Disposition (MD) was created by Congress to oversee the final disposition of surplus fissile material. Soon thereafter the HEU Disposition Program Office (HDPO), located at the Y‑12 National Security Complex, was named the "Lead Lab" supporting DOE in this program. The material disposition program is now part of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

The purpose of the HEU disposition program is to make the surplus HEU unusable for weapons, and to dispose of it in a safe, secure, and environmentally acceptable manner. Because of the huge amount of recoverable energy stored in the HEU, and its great economic value, HDPO plans to convert approximately 85% (over 155 MTU) of the available HEU to commercial or research reactor fuel. The remaining 15% of the surplus HEU is not usable as fuel for commercial use and will be disposed of as waste.

HDPO is responsible for project management and technical integration of the HEU Disposition Program. Responsibilities include strategic and tactical planning, oversight, technical analyses, regulatory coordination, business development and marketing, and coordination of interfaces among key participants and stakeholders. HDPO provides primary support in assisting MD in planning and implementing the disposition program. Major projects are under way to transfer on‑spec HEU to the United States Enrichment Corporation (USEC), and to produce fuel made from off-spec HEU for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The Savannah River Site (SRS) provides field and logistical support, as needed, to facilitate the Off‑Specification Fuel Project with TVA. PDF article

International Nonproliferation Program — Y‑12 has made significant contributions to nonproliferation initiatives that are critical to international security. Over the last few years, Y‑12 has had business arrangements and supported nonproliferation missions in more than 25 countries. For more information, email Ken Williams or call 865-576-7850.

The INP includes the following organizations:

Russian Transition Initiatives (RTI)
Elimination of Weapons Grade Plutonium Production (EWGPP)
International Safeguards (IS)
International Materials Protection and Cooperation (IMP&C)

The RTI Program provides program management and technical assessment activities for the Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention Program and the Nuclear Cities Initiative Program. IPP engages former Soviet weapons of mass destruction (WMD) scientists, engineers and technicians to redirect their expertise to peaceful, civilian work through long-term business partnerships with U.S. companies. NCI reduces WMD complexes by downsizing facilities, creating sustainable civilian alternatives for the displaced workforce, and establishing nonproliferation partnerships with other U.S. and international programs. PDF article

The EWGPP Program provides technical assistance for replacing fossil‑fuel energy in Russia, which will allow the shut down of three weapons‑grade plutonium production reactors.

The IS Program includes activities relative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), assisting countries in safeguarding nuclear materials and confirming adequate protection.

The IMP&C Program works with countries of concern to secure nuclear weapons and weapons‑usable nuclear materials by assisting the upgrade of security at their nuclear sites.

In 1943, about 22,000 people came to rural East Tennessee to do whatever was necessary to end World War II. As part of the Manhattan Project, these individuals helped produce the first nuclear weapons. Following are some significant milestones in Y‑12’s progress toward its current mission. Decade-by-decade milestones are presented in the History section of our 60th Anniversary pages.

Y‑12 Milestones

1943. Y‑12 plant construction begins as part of the Manhattan Project.
1945. Uranium-235 electronmagnetically separated by the Y‑12 plant is used in Little Boy, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
1949. The gates to the "secret city" open.
1954. The first batch of thermonuclear parts is assembled and shipped from Y‑12.
1967. Y‑12 produces the NASA "moon boxes" to bring back lunar-surface geological samples to Earth.
1994. Y‑12 leads a team that airlifts vulnerable highly enriched uranium (HEU) in Kazakhstan for safe disposition in the United States.
1994. Surplus highly enriched uranium is placed under international safeguards at Y‑12.
1997. Y‑12 meets the requirement for an upgraded B61-11 weapons system ahead of schedule and within budget.
1998. The first production unit is met ahead of schedule for the W87 Life Extension Program.
2003. Construction begins on the Purification Facility, the first major production facility to be built at Y‑12 in more than 30 years.
2004. Construction begins on the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, the largest design effort at Y‑12 in more than a decade.
2004. Nuclear materials and process designs surrendered by Libya are transferred to Y‑12, some of which are displayed at a media event attended by Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.
2004. President Bush inspects Libyan nuclear materials secured in Oak Ridge, and Condoleezza Rice expresses appreciation for Y‑12 support in combating weapons of mass destruction.
2004.The W87 life extension program is completed successfully and on schedule.
2004. A new storage facility opens for preserving Y‑12 historical records; it employs document protection technologies used in the new Bill Clinton and Dwight D. Eisenhower presidential libraries.
2005. Approvals are expected for design phases of both the Uranium Processing Facility and the Beryllium Capability Project.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Y&#8209;12 Milestones

Y‑12 Milestones