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The Pantex plant is America's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility and is charged with maintaining the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. The facility is located on a 16,000 acre (65 km²) site 17 miles (27 km) northeast of Amarillo, in Carson County, Texas. Carson County is a County located in the US state of Texas. It is part of the Amarillo metropolitan area. The plant is managed and operated for the United States Department of Energy by BWXT Pantex and Sandia National Laboratories. The United States Department of Energy ( DOE) is a Cabinet -level department of the United States government responsible for energy policy Sandia National Laboratories which is managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation (a wholly owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin Corporation) is a major United BWXT Pantex is a limited liability enterprise of BWX Technologies, Honeywell and Bechtel Corporation. BWX Technologies Inc (or BWXT) is the group that operates the Y-12 National Security Complex, and a member of the Los Alamos National Security LLC. Honeywell ( is a major American multinational conglomerate company that produces a variety of consumer products engineering services and aerospace systems Bechtel Corporation ( Bechtel Group) is the largest Engineering company in the United States, ranking as the 9th-largest privately owned company in the

Contents

History

The Pantex plant was originally constructed as a conventional bomb plant for the United States Army during the early days of World War II. A bomb is any of a range of devices that typically rely on the Exothermic Chemical reaction of an Explosive material to produce an extremely The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The Pantex Ordnance Plant was authorized February 24, 1942. Events 303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Construction was completed on November 15, 1942 and caused workers from all over the U. Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. S. to flock to Amarillo for jobs building bombs.

Pantex was abruptly deactivated after the war ended. It remained vacant until 1949, when Texas Technological College in Lubbock (now Texas Tech University) purchased the site for $1. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Texas Tech University is a public, coeducational research university in Lubbock Texas. Texas Tech used the land for experimental cattle-feeding operations.

In 1951, at the request of the Atomic Energy Commission (now the Department of Energy (DOE)), the Army exercised a recapture clause in the sale contract and reclaimed the main plant and 10,000 acres (40 km²) of surrounding land for use as a nuclear weapons production facility. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January The Atomic Energy Commission refurbished and expanded the plant at a cost of $25 million. The remaining 6,000 acres (24 km²) of the original site were leased from Texas Tech in 1989. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar)

Also in 1989, the DOE Rocky Flats Plant, located near Golden, Colorado, was deactivated as a plutonium processing center due to environmental concerns, urban encroachment, and protest by activist groups and loss of mission when Congress did not approve the next generation weapon design. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) The Rocky Flats Plant was a United States Nuclear weapons production facility near Denver Colorado that operated from 1952 to 1992 The historic City of Golden is a Home Rule Municipality that is the County seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The deactivation of Rocky Flats necessitated the interim storage of plutonium at Pantex.

In 1994, the Pantex plant was listed as a Superfund site. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Superfund is the common name for the United States environmental policy officially known as the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act [1] The US Environmental Protection Agency has not determined what contaminants and exposure risks are at the facility, but the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry stated that the plant does not pose a threat to the general public. The United States Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, ( ATSDR) is an agency for the U [2]

Pantex employed approximately 3,800 people in 1996 and had a budget of $308 million for fiscal year 1998. Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar)

In November 2006 The U. S. Energy Department fined the plant's operators $110,000 after it was revealed plant workers had applied an unsafe amount of pressure to a W-56 warhead that was being dismantled. [3] The workers blamed the mishap on being forced to work 72 hour work weeks and having plant managers focused more on production rather than safety.

Controversy

The activities of the plant, like those of the US nuclear weapons industry as a whole, have been controversial. In the early 1980s, local Bishop Leroy Matthiesen began encouraging Catholic workers at the plant to leave their jobs, offering financial support to those who did. Leroy Matthiesen (born June 11, 1921) is a theologian, political and social activist, and the retired Catholic Bishop In 1986 peace activists purchased 20 acres adjacent to the facility to create The Peace Farm, as "a visible witness against weapons of mass destruction". [4] It continues to draw attention to the plant in its current role as the lead facility maintaining and modifying the US nuclear arsenal.

In December of 2006, an investigation by The Project on Government Oversight "led to the Energy Department to fine the plant's operator $110,000, was due partly to requirements that technicians at the plant work up to 72 hours per week. "[5]

A second controversy resulted from federal requirements for physical standards for security guards and the requirement that guards must wear bulletproof vests and carry rifles throughout their 12-hour shift. The guard's union objects to these new requirements. Guards make an average of $72,000/year with 800+ hours of overtime. [6]

500 guards walked off the site and went on strike just after midnight on April 20, 2007. Events 1303 - The University of Rome La Sapienza is instituted by Pope Boniface VIII. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. [7]

Footnotes

  1. ^ NPL Sites in Texas | National Priorities List (NPL) | US EPA
  2. ^ ATSDR - PHA - Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Carson County, Texas
  3. ^ National Nuclear Security Administration - Homepage
  4. ^ http://users.arn.net/~peacefarm/hiroshima04.htm 1
  5. ^ Watchdog: Firm nearly detonated nuke bomb | www.azstarnet.com
  6. ^ (April 30, 2007) Fit to Guard Weapons?. US News and World Report.  
  7. ^ LP: Security Guards Go On Strike At U.S. Nuclear Weapons Plant

See also

External links

A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system.
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