State |
Name |
Location |
Weapons Production Activities |
AK |
Amchitka Island |
Amchitka |
This area served as an underground nuclear weapons testing site for three test shots in 1965, 1969, and 1971. |
AZ |
Monument Valley |
Monument Valley |
Between 1955 and 1967, a uranium mill at this site produced an upgraded uranium product that was further milled at a uranium mill in Shiprock, New Mexico, eventually producing uranium concentrate for sale to the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). |
AZ |
Tuba City |
Tuba City |
Between 1955 and 1966, a uranium mill at this facility processed uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. |
CA |
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)-Main Site |
Livermore |
LLNL is composed of two sites, the Main Site and Site 300. The Main Site, initially used as a flight training base and engine overhaul facility, began to be used for nuclear weapons research in 1950. |
CA |
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-Site 300 |
Livermore |
This site is used as a remote high-explosives testing area. It includes several areas for high-explosive component testing, several instrument firing tables, a particle accelerator, and various support and service facilities. |
CA |
Oxnard Site |
Oxnard |
A Department of Energy (DOE) contractor occupied the site between 1981 and 1984 to produce forgings for weapons parts. DOE purchased the site in 1984 and continued to produce forgings until 1995. |
CA |
Sandia National Laboratories, California |
Alameda County |
This site was established by AEC in 1956 to conduct research and development in the interest of national security with emphasis on nuclear weapons development and engineering |
|
|
|
in cooperation with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. |
CO |
Durango |
Durango |
Initially the site of a vanadium production plant, this site milled uranium ore for Manhattan Engineer District (MED) and AEC between 1943 and 1963. |
CO |
Grand Junction Mill Tailings Site |
Grand Junction |
Between 1951 and 1967, a uranium mill at this site processed uranium ore, producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. The site also produced vanadium and milled uranium for commercial sale until 1970. |
CO |
Grand Junction Projects Office |
Grand Junction |
MED established this site in 1943 to refine uranium for the federal government. Between 1947 and 1970, the site administered AEC defense-related uranium exploration and purchase programs. |
CO |
Gunnison |
Gunnison |
Between 1958 and 1962, a uranium mill at this site processed uranium ore, producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. |
CO |
Maybell |
25 miles west of Craig |
Between 1955 and 1964, a uranium mill at this site processed uranium ore, producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. |
CO |
Naturita |
Naturita |
Between 1947 and 1958, a uranium mill at this site processed uranium ore, producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. Between 1961 and 1963, the site produced a uranium product that was further processed at a uranium mill in Durango, Colorado, eventually producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. |
State |
Name |
Location |
Weapons Production Activities |
CO |
Old and New Rifle |
Rifle |
Between 1948 and 1970, two uranium mills at these sites processed uranium ore, producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. |
CO |
Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site |
16 miles northwest of Denver |
Established in 1952 as the Rocky Flats Plant, this site produced the plutonium pits used as triggers in nuclear weapons as well as other uranium, beryllium, and steel weapons components. Rocky Flats also recovered plutonium from returned weapons parts, production scrap, and residues. |
CO |
Slick Rock |
Slick Rock |
Two uranium mills operated at this site. The first, which operated between 1931 and 1943, was a vanadium and radium mill that also produced uranium for MED. Between 1957 and 1961, a second uranium mill nearby processed uranium ore, producing a uranium product that was further milled at one of the uranium mills at Rifle, Colorado, eventually producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. |
FL |
Pinellas Plant |
St. Petersburg |
Between 1957 and 1994, this site produced precisely timed neutron generators to initiate nuclear devices and other nonnuclear weapons parts. |
HI |
Kauai Test Facility |
Kauai |
Sandia National Laboratory/New Mexico has conducted some nonnuclear weapons research and development at this site, including launching rockets carrying experimental non-nuclear payloads. |
State |
Name |
Location |
Weapons Production Activities |
IA |
Ames Laboratory |
Ames |
Located on the campus of Iowa State University, this site developed and operated the first efficient production-scale process to convert uranium tetrafluoride to metal for use as reactor fuel by MED. |
ID |
Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) |
Approximately 42 miles northwest of Idaho Falls |
AEC established the National Reactor Testing Station in 1949 on the site of a 1940s U.S. Navy bombing and artillery range. Today, the site is known as the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. Between 1953 and 1992, the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant at INEEL reprocessed spent fuel from naval propulsion, test, and research reactors to recover enriched uranium for reuse in nuclear weapons production. Large volumes of transuranic and low-level waste from Rocky Flats Plants (RFP) component fabrication operations are buried and stored at INEEL, including waste resulting from two fires at RFP. Facilities at INEEL also conducted various minor nuclear weapons research and development work. |
ID |
Lowman |
Lowman |
Between 1956 and 1960, a uranium mill at this site processed mineral processing residues, producing uranium for sale to AEC. The source of contamination was residual tailings. The site also produced other specialty minerals for weapons and nonweapons use. |
KY |
Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant |
Paducah |
Built in the early 1950s, this plant was initially operated for the sole purpose of enriching uranium for weapons production. It gradually began to supply enriched uranium for Navy and commercial reactor fuel as well. Until the early 1960s, UF6 feed for the diffusion process was also produced at the site. In accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the diffusion cascade and support facilities at |
State |
Name |
Location |
Weapons Production Activities |
|
|
|
the site have been leased to the government-owned United States Enrichment Corporation since 1993. Paducah is still in operation enriching uranium for commercial customers, primarily nuclear power utilities. |
MO |
Kansas City Plant |
Kansas City |
Constructed in 1942 to build Navy aircraft engines, this site was converted to manufacture nonnuclear components for nuclear weapons in 1949. Today it continues to be DOE's main component fabrication plant. |
MO |
Weldon Spring Site Remedial Action Project |
St. Charles County |
Located on the site of a former ordnance production facility, this site operated from 1956 until 1966 to sample and refine uranium ore for AEC and to manufacture production reactor fuel. |
MO |
Belfield |
Belfield |
Between 1965 and 1967, a gas-fired rotary kiln at this site burned uraniferous lignite coal. The ash was shipped to a uranium mill in Rifle, Colorado, eventually producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. |
NM |
Ambrosia Lake |
McKinley County |
This facility was a uranium milling site built in 1957. It sold uranium to AEC between 1958 and 1969, Sources of contamination were residual tailings and discharged process water remaining after uranium was extracted during the milling process. |
NM |
Los Alamos National Laboratory |
Los Alamos |
Established in 1943 to design, develop, and test nuclear weapons, Los Alamos also produced small quantities of plutonium metal and nuclear weapons components. Its focus now includes academic and industrial research. |
State |
Name |
Location |
Weapons Production Activities |
NM |
Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico |
Albuquerque |
Established in 1949, this laboratory was formed from the Los Alamos Explosive Ordnance ''Z Division'' to design nonnuclear components of nuclear weapons. Sandia also housed a weapons assembly line from 1946 until 1957. |
NM |
Shiprock |
Shiprock |
Between 1954 and 1968, a uranium mill at this site processed uranium ore, producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. |
NM |
South Valley Site |
Albuquerque |
Between 1951 and 1967, this site, owned by AEC and known as South Albuquerque Works, fabricated nonnuclear components for nuclear weapons. The site was later transferred to the Air Force for use as a jet engine factory and eventually sold to General Electric. |
NV |
Central Nevada Test Site |
60 miles northeast of Tonopah |
This site was used for one subsurface nuclear test and nonnuclear seismic experiments. |
NV |
Nevada Test Site |
65 miles northwest of Las Vegas |
Established in 1950, the Nevada Test Site was used for full-scale atmospheric and underground testing of nuclear explosives in connection with weapons research and development. It is also currently used for disposal of low-level radioactive waste from DOE sites. |
NV |
Tonopah Test Range |
Nellis Air Force Range |
This site assumed the function of the Salton Sea Test Base in 1961. It is used by Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico, to test the mechanical operation and delivery systems for nuclear weapons and other defense-related projects. |
OH |
Fernald Environmental Management Project (FEMP) |
Fernald |
FEMP was established as the Feed Materials Production Center in the early 1950s to convert uranium ore into uranium metal and to fabricate uranium metal into target |
State |
Name |
Location |
Weapons Production Activities |
|
|
|
elements for reactors that produced plutonium and tritium. The site ceased production in 1989. |
OH |
Mound Plant |
Miamisburg |
Beginning in 1946, this government-owned site developed and fabricated nuclear and nonnuclear components for the weapons program, including polonium-beryllium initiators. In the 1950s, the plant began to build detonators, cable assemblies, and other nonnuclear products. Mound began to retrieve and recycle tritium from dismantled nuclear weapons in 1969. Nonweapons activities included the production of plutonium-238 thermoelectric generators for spacecraft. |
OH |
Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant |
Portsmouth |
Built in the early 1950s, this site initially produced highly enriched uranium for weapons. Later, the high-enrichment portion of the diffusion cascade was used to produce highly enriched uranium (HEU) for naval propulsion and research and test reactors, and eventually shut down. In accordance with the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the lower portion of the diffusion cascade and support facilities at the site have been leased to the government-owned United States Enrichment Corporation. These facilities are still in operation enriching uranium for commercial customers, primarily nuclear power utilities. |
OH |
RMI Titanium Company |
Ashtabula |
Between 1962 and 1988, this privately owned site received uranium billets from Fernald and extruded them into various shapes for reactor fuel and targets. |
OR |
Lakeview |
Lakeview |
Between 1958 and 1960, a uranium mill at this site processed uranium ore, producing uranium components for sale to |
State |
Name |
Location |
Weapons Production Activities |
|
|
|
AEC. In 1978, the mill was sold and used as a lumber mill and a stockpile area for sawdust and scrap waste. |
PA |
Canonsburg |
Canonsburg |
This site refined uranium for AEC. |
SD |
Savannah River Site (SRS) |
Aiken |
This site was established in 1950 to produce, purify, and process plutonium, tritium, and other radioisotopes for nuclear weapons programs and other purposes. The site fabricated fuel, operated five reactors and two chemical separation plants, and conducted research and development. SRS also produced heavy water and processed tritium. Nonweapons activities include production of plutonium-238 for use in thermoelectric generators. |
SD |
Edgemont Vicinity Properties |
Edgemont |
Between 1956 and 1968, a uranium mill at Edgemont milled uranium for AEC. The mill also produced vanadium and milled uranium for other customers until 1974. The mill site was cleaned up by the Tennessee Valley Authority and is not a DOE site, but DOE cleaned up vicinity properties under DOE's Uranium Mill Tailings Remediation Control Act (UMTRCA) program. |
TN |
K-25 Site |
Oak Ridge |
K-25 was built in 1943 and 1944 to supply enriched uranium for nuclear weapons production. It was later modified to produce commercial-grade low-enriched uranium. It has been shut down since 1987. |
TN |
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) |
Oak Ridge |
In 1942, MED established research facilities in Oak Ridge to produce and separate the first gram quantities of plutonium. Since then, ORNL has primarily supported nonweapons programs, including radioisotope production and research in a variety of fields. ORNL has also supplied isotopes for the nuclear weapons program. |
State |
Name |
Location |
Weapons Production Activities |
TN |
Y-12 Plant |
Oak Ridge |
Originally established by MED to use an electromagnetic process to separate uranium isotopes, Y-12 later enriched lithium and fabricated and stored nuclear weapons components containing lithium and HEU. |
TX |
Falls City |
46 miles southeast of San Antonio |
Between 1961 and 1968, a uranium mill at the Falls City site milled uranium for AEC. |
TX |
Pantex Plant |
Amarillo |
Formerly a conventional munitions plant also used by Texas Tech University for nondefense activities, AEC converted this site to a high-explosives component fabrication and weapons assembly plant in 1951. The principal operation of Pantex is currently weapons disassembly and fissile material storage. |
UT |
Green River |
Green River |
Between 1958 and 1961, a uranium concentrator operating at this site produced an upgraded uranium product for subsequent milling at Rifle, Colorado, and eventual sale to AEC. The site also produced vanadium for nonweapons purposes. |
UT |
Mexican Hat |
Mexican Hat |
Between 1957 and 1965, a commercially owned uranium mill at this site processed uranium ore, producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. |
UT |
Monticello Site |
Monticello |
Between 1943 and 1960, a uranium mill at this site processed uranium ore, producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. The mill was commercially owned until 1948, when AEC purchased the facility. |
State |
Name |
Location |
Weapons Production Activities |
UT |
Salt Lake City |
Salt Lake City |
Between 1951 and 1964, a uranium mill at this site processed uranium ore, producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. |
WA |
Hanford |
Richland |
Established in 1942, this major government-owned nuclear weapons production site fabricated reactor fuel, operated nine reactors and five chemical separation facilities, and fabricated plutonium components for nuclear weapons. Later operations included nonmilitary applications of nuclear energy. |
WY |
Riverton |
Riverton |
Between 1962 and 1965, a uranium concentrator at this facility processed uranium ore, producing an upgraded uranium product that was further processed at Slide Rock, Colorado, eventually producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. |
WY |
Spook |
Converse County |
Between 1958 and 1963, a uranium mill at this facility processed uranium ore, producing uranium concentrate for sale to AEC. |
SOURCE: Adapted from Linking Legacies: Connecting the Cold War Nuclear Weapons Processes to Their Environmental Consequences, DOE, Washington, D.C., 1997. |