Premium Essay

Oak Ridge Research Paper

Submitted By
Words 1078
Pages 5
In 1938, three chemists in Berlin discovered how to split a uranium atom, and with it, they learned that the energy from this could be enough to be used as a bomb. Soon after that, Albert Einstein wrote a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, expressing his concerns that the Germans might successfully build such a bomb. President Roosevelt agreed to start a nuclear research program, which only moved slowly at first. Over the next two years, the “critical mass” of uranium needed was determined, and it was also proven that plutonium could be used to make a similar bomb. These new findings made the development of an atomic bomb a priority for the United States. As a result, in 1941, the United States officially started the Manhattan Project.1 One of the main research and production sites for the Manhattan Project was located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In the years since, countless scientific developments have stemmed from this area, but have its facilities done more to help or hurt the areas surrounding it? At the time, Oak Ridge was known as Clinton Engineer Works, named after the nearby town of Clinton, Tennessee. It was an extremely secretive city, in which most of the workers were on a need-to-know basis and did not know the end goal of their jobs. Oak Ridge was designed …show more content…
It has since been revealed that up to 2.4 million pounds of mercury were “lost” to the environment, and radioactive cobalt-60 was found in the soil beneath the laboratory over 30 years after the Manhattan Project’s heyday.9 One study found evidence of radioactive cesium-137 from the Y-12 plant traveling 80 miles down to Chattanooga. It is difficult to determine exactly how many deaths have occurred due to late effects of radiation leakage from Oak Ridge, but the leukemia mortality rate in the area has reached at least 63 percent higher than the expected

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Why Is The Manhattan Project Wrong

...Due to the enormous expense, no further tests were conducted. The second bomb, known as "Little Boy" was detonated over the city of Hiroshima, and the final bomb, "Fat Man" was detonated over the city of Nagasaki. The United States where keeping a secret away from the rest of the world and they wouldn't even tell some of the people that worked for them what they were doing. In my own opinion I think it is wrong to keep secrets from the states because many people were hurt from this. People died of cancers because of the radiation that came from the bombs. The employment went through the roof during this time. They went from pretty much just talking about a bomb on paper, and than in the late 1942 they had a project with about 125,000 active employees at its peek. The Manhattan Project was extreme secret project. By 1945, the project had nearly 40 laboratories and factories which employed about 200,000 people. Among these employees were some greatest scientist. Included: Albert Einstein, Enrico Fermi, Richard Feynman, J. Robert Oppenheimer, and Harold Urey. There are many more but this is just a couple. This was a very important project to the United states so we could be the first one to accomplished the atomic...

Words: 432 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Bamboo: an Overlooked Biomass Resource

...ORNL/TM-1999/264 Environmental Sciences Division Bamboo: an overlooked biomass resource? J. M. O. Scurlock Environmental Sciences Division Oak Ridge National Laboratory P.O. Box 2008 Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6407 U.S.A. D. C. Dayton and B. Hames National Renewable Energy Laboratory 1617 Cole Boulevard, MS 3311 Golden, CO 80401 U.S.A. Environmental Sciences Division Publication No. 4963 Date Published: January 2000 Prepared for the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Office of Transportation Technologies EB 52 03 00 0 and Office of Utility Technologies EB 24 04 00 0 Prepared by the OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6422 managed by LOCKHEED MARTIN ENERGY RESEARCH CORP. for the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY under contract DE-AC05-96OR22464 Contents Page Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii 1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2. What Is Bamboo? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

Words: 3721 - Pages: 15

Free Essay

Qi Plan Part 1

...QI Plan Part I- Consumerism HCS/588 October 17, 2011 QI Plan Part I- Consumerism Healthcare organizations have a responsibility to its consumers and various stakeholders to ensure only the highest quality care is delivered. Quality measures such as performance measurement and quality improvement processes play a critical role in helping organizations achieve quality outcomes. This paper will contrast performance measurement and quality improvement processes. In addition, this paper will discuss a healthcare organization, Gulf Coast Medical Center, its mission and QI goals, and the role of the consumer and stakeholders in the QI process. Performance Measurement vs. Quality Improvement Processes Performance measures are an important element of the overall quality management of an organization. “Performance measures quantitatively tell us something important about our products, services, and the processes that produce them” (Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, n.d.). In the healthcare industry, performance measures are a tool used to help understand, manage, and improve what healthcare organizations do. Performance measures are composed of units of measure; a number to tell how much, a unit to give the number a meaning of what, each tying in to the overall target number. In contrast, quality improvement (QI) focuses on bridging the gap between current levels of quality and expected levels of quality. “QI uses...

Words: 1321 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Presentation

...processes of acquiring, analyzing and visualizing spatial data. Both geomatics and geoinformatics include and rely heavily upon the theory and practical implications of geodesy. Geography and earth science increasingly rely on digital spatial data acquired from remotely sensed images analyzed by geographical information systems (GIS) and visualized on paper or the computer screen.[3] Geoinformatics combines geospatial analysis and modeling, development of geospatial databases, information systems design, human-computer interaction and both wired and wireless networking technologies. Geoinformatics uses geocomputation and geovisualization for analyzing geoinformation. Geoinformatics Research Research in this field is used to support global and local environmental, energy and security programs. The Geographic Information Science and Technology (GIST) Group of Oak Ridge National Laboratory are supported by various government departments and agencies including The Department of Energy. They are currently the only group in the United States Department of Energy National Laboratory System to focus on advanced theory and application research in this field. Applications Many fields benefit from geoinformatics, including urban planning and...

Words: 473 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Emerging Technology: Agricultural and Animal Waste to Energy

...EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: AGRICULTURAL AND ANIMAL WASTE TO ENERGY Kathleen Cimino, Kimberly Andros, Teresa Bartley NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT University of Maryland University College Spring 2009 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Waste to energy definition/history/uses 1.2 Agricultural / Animal waste production 1.3 Graph, chart, quantities produced in United States, etc.. 2.0 Conversion of w2e 2.1 Conversion Pathways 2.1.1 Thermochemical 2.1.2 Biochemical 2.1.3 Physico-chemical 2.2 Factors affecting energy recovery 3.0 Agricultural Residue 3.1 Introduction to residue 3.2 What is it 3.3 Where is it produced 3.4 What is role in environment 3.4.1 Environmental risks 3.4.2 Health risks 3.5 Conversion of agricultural residue to energy 3.5.1 Process 3.5.2 Risks 3.5.3 Benefits 3.5.4 Future as energy source 4.0 Animal Wastes 4.1 Introduction to animal waste 4.2 What is animal waste comprised of 4.3 Where is it produced 4.4 What is its role in environment 4.4.1 Environmental risks 4.4.2 Health risks Table of Contents (Cont’d) 4.5 Conversion of animal waste to energy 4.5.1 Process 4.5.2 Risks 4.5.3 Benefits 4.5.4 Future as Energy source 5.0 Processes/Regulations/Technology 5.1 Availability of w2e facilities, costs 5.2 Technological benefits/risks 5.2.1 Other information on technology of w2e, production, transportation, environmental implications 5.3 Regulation governing...

Words: 8663 - Pages: 35

Free Essay

Emergingtechnology: Agricultural and Animal Waste to Energy

...EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: AGRICULTURAL AND ANIMAL WASTE TO ENERGY NEW TECHNOLOGIES IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT University of Maryland University College Spring 2009 Table of Contents 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Waste to energy definition/history/uses 1.2 Agricultural / Animal waste production 1.3 Graph, chart, quantities produced in United States, etc.. 2.0 Conversion of w2e 2.1 Conversion Pathways 2.1.1 Thermochemical 2.1.2 Biochemical 2.1.3 Physico-chemical 2.2 Factors affecting energy recovery 3.0 Agricultural Residue 3.1 Introduction to residue 3.2 What is it 3.3 Where is it produced 3.4 What is role in environment 3.4.1 Environmental risks 3.4.2 Health risks 3.5 Conversion of agricultural residue to energy 3.5.1 Process 3.5.2 Risks 3.5.3 Benefits 3.5.4 Future as energy source 4.0 Animal Wastes 4.1 Introduction to animal waste 4.2 What is animal waste comprised of 4.3 Where is it produced 4.4 What is its role in environment 4.4.1 Environmental risks 4.4.2 Health risks Table of Contents (Cont’d) 4.5 Conversion of animal waste to energy 4.5.1 Process 4.5.2 Risks 4.5.3 Benefits 4.5.4 Future as Energy source 5.0 Processes/Regulations/Technology 5.1 Availability of w2e facilities, costs 5.2 Technological benefits/risks 5.2.1 Other information on technology of w2e, production, transportation, environmental implications 5.3 Regulation governing w2e 6.0 Recommendations 6.1 Policy recommendations/guidelines...

Words: 8657 - Pages: 35

Premium Essay

Manager

...November 1998 ! NREL/TP-570-25885 Report on Biomass Drying Technology Wade A. Amos National Renewable Energy Laboratory National Renewable Energy Laboratory 1617 Cole Boulevard Golden, Colorado 80401-3393 A national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Managed by Midwest Research Institute for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract No. DE-AC36-83CH10093 NREL/TP-570-25885 Report on Biomass Drying Technology Wade A. Amos National Renewable Energy Laboratory National Renewable Energy Laboratory 1617 Cole Boulevard Golden, Colorado 80401-3393 A national laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy Managed by Midwest Research Institute for the U.S. Department of Energy under contract No. DE-AC36-83CH10093 Prepared under Task No. GT818510 November 1998 NOTICE This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States government. Neither the United States government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by...

Words: 553 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Atomic Bombs and the Creation and Use of the First Two Atomic Bombs

...bomb on Hiroshima, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, a twenty one kiloton plutonium device known as "Fat Man.”(Atomic Heritage Foundation, 2012) This paper will discuss the creation and use of the first two atomic bombs. Early in 1939, German physicists had learned the secrets of splitting a uranium atom. Fears soon spread over the possibility of Nazi scientists utilizing that energy to produce a bomb capable of unspeakable destruction. Scientists Albert Einstein, who fled Nazi persecution, and Enrico Fermi, who escaped Fascist Italy, were now living in the United States. They agreed that President Franklin Roosevelt, must be informed of the dangers of atomic technology in the hands of the Axis powers. In late 1941, the American started to design and build an atomic bomb, which later received its code name, the Manhattan Project, which was named after one of the initial sites of research, Columbia University in Manhattan, New York. Nuclear facilities were built at Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Hanford, Washington. The main assembly plant was built at Los Alamos, New Mexico. Robert Oppenheimer and Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves was put in charge of putting the pieces together at Los Alamos. After the final bill was tallied, nearly $2 billion had been spent on research and development of the...

Words: 1203 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Biomass

...English 101 Linda Martin Research Paper Jordan Hartt November 29, 2010 Slash/Burn and Chips An argument for Biomass Co-Generation Biomass co-generation is the historically proved approach to energy production. For thousands of years, the Plains Indians (then early settlers) used buffalo chips to build fires to heat their tepees (and sod huts). This was probably the first use of biomass energy in America. Early settlers learned from the Indians to heat their sod huts. After the buffalo became extinct, cow chips were used. On the plains there weren’t many trees and coal had not been discovered there, so this was a matter of survival (Whyte n.d.). Once the chips were dried in the sun they were almost odorless, and placed outside the tepees and sod huts. Western pioneers would modify their stoves to burn cow chips as they were plentiful along the cattle drive trails where the cattle were brought to the railroad cars for sale, and transporting to other areas. They compacted hay and then twisted it into twig-like bundles called cats. When the settlers started farming on the plains, they used corn stalks, corn cobs, and sunflower stalks as a source of fuel. In the United States, the first facility identified as a biomass power plant went on line in 1982. Using corn residues, rice husks, soy beans and sorghum residues, willows, switch grass, and organic waste from land fills as fuel, we could provide enough energy for all the homes in New England (Whyte n.d.). I...

Words: 3497 - Pages: 14

Premium Essay

Is Cloning Unethical in Today’s Society?

...Persuasive Research Paper Is Cloning Unethical in Today’s Society? "Public hostility to human reproductive cloning may be based on an illogical and transient fear of a new technology." BioNews quoting the British Medical Association The 20th Century saw the most remarkable advancements in the field of science, with the likes of Albert Einstein and Louis Pasteur bestowing mankind with their extraordinary discoveries and inventions. But the concept of cloning, even though very contemporary, has left the world more surprised than it ever was. Cloning is a recent breakthrough in medical science, which has completely revolutionalized the whole concept of biotechnology. The story starts when a group of British scientists cloned Dolly (the most famous sheep in the history of the world), in 1997. In so doing those scientists set off a spark as well, one that has traveled around the globe setting off fierce debates about the possibilities and pitfalls inherent in this brave new world, a world where it is now suddenly and surprisingly possible for scientists to create exact genetic copies of large mammals -- perhaps including, someday, humans. The Adverse Affects of Human Cloning Cloning like any other field of knowledge has its pros and cons. It is basically a man's perpetual ambition to gain power to rule the world and its creatures; be they men or animals. With the cloning technology there is a fear of beginning of this mad race. Therefore, knowledge gained for useful purpose...

Words: 1403 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Perfume

...Information Security Journal: A Global Perspective, 19:61–73, 2010 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1939-3555 print / 1939-3547 online DOI: 10.1080/19393550903404902 Information 1939-3547 1939-3555 Security Journal: A Global Perspective, Vol. 19, No. 2, Mar 2010: pp. 0–0 UISS Perspective An Ontological Approach to Computer System Security ABSTRACT Computer system security relies on different aspects of a computer system such as security policies, security mechanisms, threat analysis, and countermeasures. This paper provides an ontological approach to capturing and utilizing the fundamental attributes of those key components to determine the effects of vulnerabilities on a system’s security. Our ontology for vulnerability management (OVM) has been populated with all vulnerabilities in NVD (see http://nvd.nist.gov/scap.cfm) with additional inference rules and knowledge discovery mechanisms so that it may provide a promising pathway to make security automation program (NIST Version 1.0, 2007) more effective and reliable. KEYWORDS analysis system security, common vulnerability exposures, ontology, vulnerability Ju An Wang, Michael M. Guo, and Jairo Camargo School of Computing and Software Engineering, Southern Polytechnic State University, Marietta, Georgia, USA J. A. Wang, M. Approach to Computer An Ontological M. Guo, and J. Camargo System Security 1. INTRODUCTION Secure computer systems ensure that confidentiality, integrity, and availability are guaranteed...

Words: 6084 - Pages: 25

Premium Essay

Medical Experimentation on African Americans

...Medical Experimentation on African Americans Katryna A. Lawson Montgomery College Abstract This research paper is going to review some of the horrific ways that African Americans were abused by medical research experiments in the United States. I will also examine how America’s physicians has a disgraceful history of exploitative studies in which African Americans have been used as objects, for new surgical techniques, drug testing, nuclear radiation absorption, biased psychological testing, sterilization, and cadavers all in the name of medical science since the time of slavery. Medical experimentation on African Americans began during the time of slavery. The South was home to 90 percent of American blacks, in some states, the black population was completely comprised of slaves: Alabama, for example, forbade the presence of free blacks. Since there was so many slaves, this also made the south a haven for the lowest of the low, worst kind of medical experiments on African Americans. Harriet A. Washington, author of the book Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black American from Colonial time to the Present, cites many of the atrocious acts that the Black Americans experienced through telling personal stories like those of slave women, giving faces to many of the black victims of violent medical experimentation and racially biased investigations, while also revealing the doctors inflicting the abuse. Doctors tortured and abused African American...

Words: 1628 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Road Signs

...Business, Management and Social Sciences Vol. 3, No. 1, 2012, pp. 19-25 INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT AND SOCIAL SCIENCES www.ijbmss-ng.com © 2012 MultiCraft Limited. All rights reserved Assessment of drivers understanding of road signs in Ghana: A case study along Ho – Afloa Togo route Maxwell Selase Akple*, Robert Biscoff Ho Polytechnic, Mechanical Engineering Dept, P.O.Box Box HP 217, Ho. Volta Region, GHANA Corresponding author’s e-mail : oomaxi@yahoo.com, Tel. +233 244979950 Abstract This paper examines driver’s knowledge concerning road sign usage along an international route in Ghana. There were two stages for the data collection. First, an observational study was conducted to determine the specific road signs along the route. Second, questionnaires were administered to 50 drivers who regularly drove on this route to assess their understanding of those road signs. The study shows that various road signs and markings are along the route. Hump ridge ramps are the dominant road signs observed coupled with pedestrian crossing warning sign posts. Most drivers do not recognize common road signs and markings hence their memorability, remembrance and application during driving is difficult. Main contributing factors are driver’s not professional trained and symbolic nature of the road signs. Challenges encountered during road sign usage include size of road sign indicating situations, visibility, reflectivity and placement. The result of the study recommended alphanumeric...

Words: 4570 - Pages: 19

Premium Essay

How to Survive a Nuclear Attack

...Nuclear War Survival Skills Updated and Expanded 1987 Edition Cresson H. Kearny With Foreword by Dr. Edward Teller Original Edition Published September, 1979, by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a Facility of the u.s. Department of Energy Published by the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine Cave Junction, Oregon Copyright © 1986 by Cresson H. Kearny Cresson H. Kearny's additions to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory original 1979 edition are the only parts covered by this copyright, and are printed in this type print to distinguish these additions from the original upcopyrighted parts. The uncopyrighted parts are printed in a different type of print (like this). No part of the added, copyrighted parts (except brief passages that a reviewer may quote in a review) may be reproduced in any form unless the reproduced material includes the following two sentences: "Copyright © 1986 by Cresson H. Kearny. The copyrighted material may be reproduced without obtaining permission from anyone, provided: (1) all copyrighted material is reproduced full-scale (except for microfiche reproductions), and (2) the part of this copyright notice within quotation marks is printed along with the copyrighted material." First printing May 1987 Second printing November 1988 Third printing September 1990 ISBN 0-942487-01-X Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number 87-60790 CRESSON H. KEARNY Civil Defense Consultant, Retired A LETTER TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE...

Words: 39667 - Pages: 159

Free Essay

Wipp Shipment

...loaded with 9,000 gallons of gasoline or would the same person be safer transporting a loaded trailer of transuranic (TRU) waste? Therefore, transporting any commodity can be as safe as the driver transporting the commodity or the opposing traffic makes the situation. With the continued controversy over the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site, the Department of Energy (DOE) has continued to transport transuranic (TRU) waste from different sites around the U.S. to the world’s first repository for radioactive waste. This paper will explain what the WIPP site does and where WIPP is located. Will explain the birth of the program and why. Will explain what TRU waste is. Will explain what the process of disposal is from birth to the grave. Will show what the public has to say about the program. Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is the world's first underground repository licensed to safely and permanently dispose of TRU waste left from the research and production of nuclear weapons.  After more than 20 years of scientific study, public input, and regulatory struggles, WIPP began operations on March 26, 1999. Located in the remote Chihuahuan Desert of Southeastern New Mexico, about 30 miles east of Carlsbad, NM, project facilities include disposal rooms mined 2,150 feet underground in a 2,000-foot thick salt formation and have been stable for more than 200 million years. TRU waste is currently stored at sites nationwide. WIPP is the nation’s solution for permanently disposing...

Words: 2540 - Pages: 11