Aerial view of Graphite Reactor (1944)

17494883298_6805ba6e2a_kAerial photograph of Graphite Reactor during the World War II Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge, March 10, 1944.The world’s first continuously operated nuclear reactor served as a prototype facility for the production of plutonium and later became a source of radioisotopes for medicine and research. (Department of Energy archives/Ed Westcott photo)

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About Frank Munger

Senior Writer Frank Munger covers the Dept. of Energy's Oak Ridge facilities and many related topics — nuclear weapons, nuclear waste and other things nuclear, environmental cleanup and science of all sorts. Atomic City Underground is, first and foremost, a news blog, but there's room for analysis, opinion and random thoughts that have no place else to go.