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In 1950, the federal government requested that DuPont build and operate a nuclear facility to make heavy water and tritium near the Savannah River in South Carolina.
Aug 1, 2016 · The site was chosen in 1950, and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) asked E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company to design, construct, and manage the facility. Construction began on February 1, 1951, and the heavy water plant began operation on August 17, 1952.
Du Pont had pertinent experience with heavy water, having produced 32 tons of it for the Manhattan District in facilities at 3 ordnance plants built and oper-ated by the Company during World War II. These large facilities used vacuum distillation of water followed by electrolysis for final concen-tration.
Five reactors were built to produce these materials. Also built were a number of support facilities including two chemical separations plants, a heavy water extraction plant, a nuclear fuel and target fabrication facility, a tritium extraction facility and waste management facilities.
October 20, 1950. President Truman sends a formal letter to DuPont, specifically requesting their expertise for the design and construction of a new atomic project. The Decision was then made to build nuclear facility in South Carolina, later to be called the "Savannah River Plant" (SRP). Construction Began at the Plant. 1951.
He chose to build his production facilities on a site on the Delaware's Brandywine River, which was central to all of the states at the time and provided sufficient water power to run the mills. Du Pont rapidly established a reputation for superior gunpowder.
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The Manhattan Project soon contracted DuPont to build heavy water plants at three sites where ordnance works were already under construction: the Morgantown Ordnance Works near Morgantown, West Virginia; at the Wabash River Ordnance Works, near Newport, Indiana; and at the Alabama Ordnance Works, near Sylacauga, Alabama.
