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Open House 1940s

Some less-often-told tales from ORNL's colorful past.

"This wonderful old reactor." Veterans celebrated the Graphite Reactor's 50th anniversary in 1993.

Presidential visit, 1992: George H.W. Bush visited ORNL to sign a CRADA.

When Tiger Teams prowled: Tom Row spearheaded the controvers...

Deb Austin lifts the top of the Graphite Reactor model.

A historic ORNL relic has turned up in a central campus office. The portable scale model of the Graphite Reactor was once used for show-and-tells during ORNL's early days.

The model was saved from being discarded years ago by Mark Baldwin, a now-retired environment, safety and health organization...

The Holifield Facility's tower.

When the end of the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility was ordained in 2012, it came as a surprise to many. The facility had just completed nearly $10 million in upgrades and researchers were looking forward to new experiments at the facility that provides ORNL with its most recognizable landma...

The south tank farm under construction

Steve Stow dispels popular myths about Clinton Laboratory's liquid radioactive waste disposal in the 1940s.

Stow, a retired geoscientist and environmental spearhead at ORNL, explained recently to Friends of ORNL in his lecture, titled "And Some of the Cowboys Wore White Hats: Disposal of Liquid N...

Tom Row

Tom Row found himself as ORNL's point person for a controversial campaign in 1989, when "Tiger Teams" descended on DOE facilities with a mission to enforce regulations pertaining to environment, safety and health.

James Watkins, the secretary of Energy and retired Navy admiral who had been chief ...

Tower Shielding Facility

The Tower Shielding Facility is located on the perimeter of the Oak Ridge Reservation on a road blocked by a locked gate. It's still one of ORNL's more conspicuous landmarks because the two towers, from which a small nuclear reactor was at times suspended, can be glimpsed from nearby Interstate 40.
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Multigenerations at ORNL

Over its three-quarters of a century history ORNL has employed many people in the area. It stands to reason several families have contributed more than one member to the Lab's work force -- in some cases multiple generations of the same families. This year's 75th Anniversary planners asked staff mem...