K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant
Secret Military Facilities
Summary…
The K-25 Plant was built on the western end of town to separate uranium 235 from uranium 238 by a more economical method called gaseous diffusion. This plant was one of the largest scale-ups of laboratory equipment in history and involved process systems of unprecedented vacuum tightness and cleanliness. The original K-25 Plant covered more than 1,500 acres and was the forerunner of similar facilities in Paducah, Kentucky and Portsmouth, Ohio. The facility was completed at a cost of $500 million and operated by 12,000 workers. Today, these plants are a source of enriched uranium which is used to fuel both military and civilian nuclear power reactors.In depth…
