ORNL FCU 75 Years

Although most of Oak Ridge’s workforce viewed their employment as little more than a war related government job, rumors were rampant. To soothe rapidly growing panic, the government informed newspapers that the area was being cleared for a surface-to-ground demolition range. For the most part the story worked and, according to a LIFE magazine article, Oak Ridge labored on in hope and blind faith. But in August 1945, hope was justified when the world learned about the atomic bombs dropped over Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Overnight, it was revealed that Oak Ridge was one of three top secret production sites for the Manhattan Project. Their contribution was the first-ever large-scale production of U-235, an element of uranium essential in atomic weaponry and the fuel for Little Boy, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Also contributed was the X-10 Graphite Reactor’s production of the first laboratory quantity of plutonium, proving a uranium reactor could produce that rare element. A second facility in Hanford, Washington, produced the necessary plutonium for Fat Man, the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. A third location in Los Alamos, New Mexico, developed the two bombs’ techniques and mechanisms using those materials.

MANHATTAN PROJECT NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK Oak Ridge’s scientific heritage in the Manhattan Project is preserved through the Manhattan Project National Historical Park (along with sites in Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico). Sites that once only existed behind top-secret security are now open to the public at the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which is cooperatively run by the National Park Service and the Department of Energy. Established on November 10, 2015, it is the only US national park site that spans three different time zones. The historical park preserves and features buildings, artifacts, and equipment used in creating the world’s first nuclear weapons. In Oak Ridge, guided bus tours are offered of the X-10 Graphite Reactor, the K-25 History Center, and the New Hope Visitor Center’s Y-12 History Museum. The Oak Ridge Visitor Center, located in the Children’s Museum of Oak Ridge, offers ranger tours for other historic sites across Oak Ridge.

10 | 75 YEARS ORNL FEDERAL CREDIT UNION