Clinton Engineer Works, Nuclear research facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States
Clinton Engineer Works was a large factory facility in Oak Ridge with three main production plants: Y-12 for electromagnetic separation, X-10 for plutonium research, and K-25 for uranium enrichment. The site required extensive land and employed tens of thousands of workers at its peak.
The facility was established in 1942 and played a key role in the Manhattan Project during World War II. Uranium enrichment products made here were later used in the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
Women workers, known as Calutron Girls, operated complex machinery in the Y-12 plant to separate uranium isotopes under strict daily schedules. Many of these workers had no idea what their labor actually contributed to, making their role both essential and shrouded in secrecy.
Access to parts of the former facility is available to visitors, though many areas remain restricted. Visitors should plan for walking across considerable distances and wear comfortable shoes.
The X-10 Graphite Reactor at this site was the second artificial nuclear reactor ever built and the first to successfully produce plutonium. This breakthrough in nuclear science would influence the field for generations.
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