Oak Ridge Multibillion Dollar Nuclear Project: Largest Investment in Tennessee History (2024)

FAQs

Why was Oak Ridge important to Tennessee? ›

Alpha calutron operators at their control panels, Y-12, Oak Ridge. 1943-1944. Significance: Oak Ridge was the headquarters site for the Manhattan Project, a secret United States government project during World War II that produced the world's first atomic weapons.

The new facility, spanning 750,000 square feet, will become one of the largest uranium enrichment plants in North America, solidifying Oak Ridge as a hub for nuclear technology and innovation. The ambitious endeavor, known as Project IKE, will be located on a 920-acre site on the Roane County side of Oak Ridge.

Oak Ridge was the home of the uranium enrichment plants (K-25 and Y-12), the liquid thermal diffusion plant (S-50), and the pilot plutonium production reactor (X-10 Graphite Reactor).

The low-power reactor is the first non-light water design permitted for construction in the United States in more than 50 years and is projected to be operational in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in 2027.

Oak Ridge, Tennessee was once one of the primary nuclear weapon manufacturing facilities for the US in the Cold War, but the architecture that produced those weapons cannot contain the radiation within.

It was built as part of the Manhattan Project for the purpose of enriching uranium for the first atomic bombs. In the years after World War II, it has been operated as a manufacturing facility for nuclear weapons components. Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

The impact on the site and surrounding areas of a nuclear detonation would be catastrophic. The fallout from a 10 kiloton IND detonation at Y-12 could result in an estimated 60,000 casualties, including 18,000 fatalities, and harmful radiation sickness for over 40 miles.

Palo Verde Generating Station (PVGS) is considered the largest nuclear energy facility in the United States.

Since World War II

Two years after World War II ended, Oak Ridge was shifted to civilian control, under the authority of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. The Roane Anderson Company administered community functions, including arranging housing and operating buses, under a government contract.

Three secret communities supported the top-secret Manhattan Project: Los Alamos, New Mexico; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Richland, Washington. These communities were a mix of military personnel and civilian employees from all different backgrounds.

Does Oak Ridge, Tennessee still exist? ›

You can still visit Oak Ridge today and see some of the original buildings from 1942. There is even still an active scientific laboratory there! But thankfully, this historic town isn't a secret you have to keep.

Nuclear Power in Tennessee

Tennessee has four nuclear power plants: Sequoyah 1 and 2 and Watts Bar 1 and 2. These plants are operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority which also operates two more plants in northern Alabama. Combined, Sequoyah and Watts Bar generate about 45% of the electricity in our state.

A fire at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge, Tennessee occurred in a uranium processing building, which was constructed in 1945. The Y-12 facility was where research and development on the atom bomb started. The fire was contained and there were no reports of injury or contamination.

Orano USA will build a multibillion-dollar uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge. Orano USA, a Maryland-based subsidiary of a global nuclear fuel company, will invest billions of dollars to build a centrifuge uranium enrichment facility in Oak Ridge in the largest single investment in Tennessee history.

The Black Oak Ridge country was chosen as one of the three atomic sites for its electric power, supplied by the TVA, its inaccessibility to enemy attacks, its water supply and the then uncritical labor area.

The quarry was created in the early 1940s by excavating into McKinney Ridge. The rock material was used to support construction of the K-25 Site. It was later used for open burning of trash and debris. Phase 1 of David Witherspoon Inc.

You can still visit Oak Ridge today and see some of the original buildings from 1942. There is even still an active scientific laboratory there! But thankfully, this historic town isn't a secret you have to keep.

Those atomic workers arrived at a place shrouded in secrecy. Locals knew that something mysterious was going on at the site, but only those who were part of the mission were allowed inside, past the guarded gates on the access roads. The atomic facilities themselves were surrounded by additional security.

Originally known as Clinton Laboratories, ORNL was established in 1943 to conduct the pilot-scale production and separation of plutonium for the World War II Manhattan Project. The laboratory was also highly involved in reactor designs and isotope research and production.