Thousands of people worked at Oak Ridge in Tennessee in the 1940s, unaware that it was the site the United States used to make atomic bombs.
Oak Ridge in Tennessee is home to a once top-secret national laboratory in the United States. This is one of three research facilities used by the US to make atomic bombs .
By the 1940s, thousands of people were working at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory . However, they do not know that the real purpose of the work they are doing is to build nuclear bombs – weapons that cause terrible damage.
It wasn’t until the United States dropped the first atomic bomb named “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945, that the people working at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory knew the work they were doing was uranium production – part of the Manhattan project.
Due to the nature of the job, many people working for the US government at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are exposed to radiation over many years.
Because it is the place where the US made the atomic bomb, Oak Ridge is also known as the “secret city” or “nuclear bomb city”.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is located on more than 226 square kilometers of land. For many years, the area was closed to strangers.
In addition to the laboratory area used to research and manufacture atomic bombs, Oak Ridge also has 10 schools, 17 restaurants and cafes, 13 supermarkets, 17 churches… It has the maximum capacity. 75,000 people.
Although part of Oak Ridge is now open to the public, to get inside, visitors must go through military checkpoints with strict regulations.
The rest of Oak Ridge is closed off and heavily guarded.