Mound Laboratory in Miamisburg, Ohio was an Atomic Energy Commission (later Department of Energy) facility for

nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...

research during the Cold War, named after the nearby Miamisburg Indian Mound. The laboratory grew out of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

era Dayton Project (a site within the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...

) where the neutron generating triggers for the first plutonium bombs were developed. Post-war construction of a permanent site for Dayton Project activities began in 1947. The lab was originally known as the Dayton Engineer Works. The lab began operations in 1948 and was managed by

Monsanto The Monsanto Company () was an American agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology corporation founded in 1901 and headquartered in Creve Coeur, Missouri. Monsanto's best known product is Roundup, a glyphosate-based herbicide, developed i ...

. Mound produced detonators, cable assemblies, timers, firing sets, and other equipment. In 1954, Mound began working with

tritium Tritium ( or , ) or hydrogen-3 (symbol T or H) is a rare and radioactive isotope of hydrogen with half-life about 12 years. The nucleus of tritium (t, sometimes called a ''triton'') contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus ...

. The lab disassembled bomb components, recovering the tritium within and sending it for repurification at

Savannah River Site The Savannah River Site (SRS) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reservation in the United States in the state of South Carolina, located on land in Aiken, Allendale, and Barnwell counties adjacent to the Savannah River, southeast of August ...

. Mound supplied enriched non-radioactive isotopes. The lab also produced

plutonium-238 Plutonium-238 (238Pu or Pu-238) is a fissile, radionuclide, radioactive isotope of plutonium that has a half-life of 87.7 years. Plutonium-238 is a very powerful alpha emitter; as alpha particles are easily blocked, this makes the plutonium-238 ...

-powered thermoelectric heat sources called SNAP or Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power for the U.S. space program. Workers at the site were represented by the Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers International Union (OCAW). Mound was declared a

Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the Environmental Protection Agen ...

site and was put on the National Priorities list in 1989. In a decision was made to close the plant by 2006. Cleanup of the site began in 1995. Work with tritium ended in 1997. Cleanup of the site finished in 2010.

References

{{Reflist

Sources

* Thomas B. Cochran, William M. Arkin, Robert S. Norris and Milton M. Hoenig of the National Resources Defense Council.
Nuclear Weapons Databook Series Volume III: U.S. Nuclear Warhead Facility Profiles
1987. pp. 59–61 *Radioactive Waste Management Associates on behalf of Alliance for Nuclear Accountability. Danger Lurks Below: The Threat to Major Water Supplies from US Department of Energy Nuclear Weapons Plants
Chapter 8: Mound Facility
2004.

External links

Video of panel discussion with former Mound Laboratory employees
Voices of the Manhattan Project Buildings and structures in Montgomery County, Ohio United States Department of Energy facilities Superfund sites in Ohio Nuclear weapons infrastructure of the United States Miamisburg, Ohio Monsanto