Physics Assembly Laboratory, Area A/M, Savannah River Site, Aiken, Aiken County, SC

Significance: The Physics Assembly Laboratory, a testing facility at the Savannah River Plant that housed a zero power reactor known as the Process Development Pile, is significant for its role in establishing the physics parameters for plutonium and tritium production in five Cold War era heavy water moderated and cooled production reactors.Savannah River Plant was constructed by theAtomic Energy Commission between 1950 and 1956 for the production of nuclear materials for the nation's arsenal. Beyond this historically important defense mission, the Physics Assembly Laboratory's test reactors were used for physics experiments until computers made their research potential obsolete in 1979.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1161

Survey number: HAER SC-43

Building/structure dates: 1953 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: 2005 Demolished

physics nuclear power plants nuclear reactors nuclear weapons industry testing laboratories reinforced concrete construction control panels testing nuclear facilities belvedere aiken county sc laboratory savannah savannah river site aiken aiken county south carolina american machine and foundry company atomic energy commission norman baumann department of energy e i du pont de nemours and company tom gorrell historic american engineering record j w morris new york shipbuilding corporation voorhess walker foley and smith milton wahl charles w j wende photo area a m ultra high resolution high resolution power plants assembly plants manufacturing plants machinery power equipment library of congress

1969 - 1980

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

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