Oak Ridge National Laboratory (X-10)

History

Since its operations began in 1943, the mission of ORNL has been to conduct research and development (R&D) and production missions in support of DOE and its predecessor agencies. (ORNL has also been known as X-10, Clinton Laboratories, and, briefly, Holifield National Laboratory.) Much of the earliest site work was devoted to the development and operation of the original plutonium production reactor and associated chemical separation facility to test the larger production reactors that were being built on the Hanford Site. The Graphite Reactor produced gram quantities of plutonium and later fission products [e.g., radioactive lanthanum (RaLa)]; other types of radioactive materials were separated in other site facilities. Waste control technologies during early site operations were in their infancy, and much of the current knowledge of transport of radionuclides in the environment was obtained during this time. The ability to detect, identify, and quantify radiation types and exposures was progressing along with new technologies being discovered in radioisotope production. Much of the information gained during the early years at ORNL was used for the design of future U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)/DOE facilities and detection systems. Waste radioactive material was released from early site operations as gaseous, liquid, and solid effluents with little or no pretreatment. Methods were later developed to capture many of the contaminants at their source and to reduce overall plant emissions. In some cases, this increased direct exposures to individuals in the immediate area and created locations in which incidents and spills occurred.

Major historic operations and processes at ORNL include:
• The operation of the Graphite Reactor for producing plutonium and other radioisotopes
• The development and refinement of chemical processes to separate plutonium, uranium, and thorium from irradiated fuel
• Chemical separation of RaLa from irradiated fuel slugs for use in implosion dynamics studies at Los Alamos National Laboratory
• Operation of facilities for the separation, packaging, and distribution of radioisotopes for government and commercial use

In addition, ORNL developed new reactor technologies. The Laboratory tested different reactor designs (pool, pressurized-water, boiling-water, liquid-metal, gas-cooled) that were either scrapped or developed further elsewhere. Reactors operated at ORNL include the Low-Intensity Test Reactor (LITR), Critical Experiments Facility [CEF at the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12)], Bulk Shielding Reactor (BSR)/Pool Critical Assembly (PCA), Oak Ridge Research Reactor (ORR), Tower Shielding Reactor (TSR), Health Physics Research Reactor (HPRR), Homogeneous Reactor Experiment (HRE), Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion (ANP) Program, the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR), and the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE).
In 1947, several ORNL divisions moved to Y-12. These divisions conducted research in biological sciences, the production of stable isotopes in the calutron units, and engineering technology.