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A new look at Y-12's 'dry room'
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Magnu-@aol.com
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Oct 09, 2009 08:23 PDT
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_http://blogs.knoxnews.com/munger/2009/09/a_new_look_at_y-12s_dry_room.html_
(http://blogs.knoxnews.com/munger/2009/09/a_new_look_at_y-12s_dry_room.html)
A new look at Y-12's 'dry room'
(http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/munger/dryroom2.jpg)
(http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/munger/dryroom1.jpg) The so-called dry room is a high-security
facility inside the Y-12 National Security Complex where nuclear warhead parts
are assembled, and the area is sometimes known as the place where workers
wear moon suits.
According to information provided by B&W, the government's managing
contractor at Y-12, "The 'dry room' is an assembly area used to assemble
secondaries and canned subassemblies. Atmospheric moisture is maintained at just a
few parts per million. Workers in this area wear special suits to maintain
this very low level of atmospheric moisture. These rooms are also known as
'environmental rooms.' "
The photograph, at right, was taken earlier this year. You can compare that
with what the suited workers looked like in the 1997 photo (inset left).
So-called secondaries are the second stage of thermonuclear weapons, and
that is Y-12's key role in the nuclear weapons production complex. The inside
joke at the Oak Ridge plant is that Y-12 puts the "boom" in "ka-boom."
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