What Has Happened to the Survivors of the Early Los Alamos Nuclear Accidents?
Description:
Abstract: Two nuclear accidents involving a plutonium sphere just subcritical in size occurred at the Los Alamos Laboratory, LA-1 in 1945 and LA-2 in 1946. Because remote control devices were deemed unreliable at the time, the tamper material (tungsten carbide bricks in LA-1 and beryllium hemispheres in LA-2) was added by hand with the operator standing next to the assembly. In each case the critical size of the assembly was accidentally exceeded and the resultant exponentially increasing chain…
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Date:
1979
Creator:
Hempelman, Louis Henry; Lushbaugh, Clarence C. & Voelz, George L.
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Partner:
UNT Libraries Government Documents Department