sebnGay as a major industrial plant and that as far as could be foreseen it would be fairly permanent, the nearby communities swung around to full support. The decision to cancel was fortunately taken before. there had been major community investments, but it was nonetheless a serious blow to a depressed region. Residents and their leaders accepted the AEC explanation that cancellation was dictated by technical developments making it possi- ble to avoid a multimillion-dollar outlay of Federal funds, and there was only minor con- tinuing criticism. After the most extensive selection procedure in SFOO history, Thompson Products Company of Cleveland had been selected as the operator. Cancellation was a serious disappointment to Thompson management and to the personnel selected or in process of being selected for assignmentto Illinois. , Ordnance High Explosive Plant Contracts The Management Plan proposal of mid-1952 had drawn attention to the position of Army Ordnance as a management middleman in the Burlington and Pantex pictures, as distinguished from Ordnance's position as a producer at Picatinny (Army) and Inyokern (Navy). During the planning stages of Spoon River, this question of AEC, of AEC-throughOrdnance, or of Ordnance contract management was discussed on numerous occasions. The AEC decision was that Spoon River would be a direct AEC operation, but no final decision as to Burlington and Pantex was made known. Partially as a result of the changes in weapons requirements late in the year, it was determined that a new agreement would The Possible Thermonuclear Organization Planning went forward for the transition from thermonuclear development to development-and-production. The organization plan developed during the 1950-1953 period to vd be sor 5 management and contract administration and an increase in Ordnance responsibilities. As this agreement was shaping up, it would provide that AEC would retain responsibility for funding, scheduling, and product inspection, with Ordnance conforming otherwise to AEC policies and procedures such as those on security and on information. be sorta 1 bene be negotiated with Army Ordnance providing for a reduction in on-the- site, SFOO-AEC support LASL development provided the essentials for the future. As the year ended, planning foresaw the outlines of the organization as being: LASL and Livermore, development of the full explosive system; Sandia, development of case and fuzing, with related operations; American Car & Foundry, somewhat as a Production Agency for heavy case components and supported by various sub-contractors; NBS Cryogenics Laboratory, research and production of materials; and Cambridge Corporation, engineering and production in the dewar field. Divestment of Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Production Functions Initiated as a program even prior to 1947, this objective was almost entirely attained during the six months with the full activation of Rocky Flats. The only function in this category still being performed at LASL as the year ended was on-site receipt and inspec- tion of Picatinny detonators. Rocky Flats Plant ‘ ALS) Construction was started July 28, 1951, and completed September 25, 1953, final “estimated completion cost being $43, 419, 000 as compared with the original cost estimate of $45,000,000. The plant went into operation as various facilities were completed but iis considered to have gone into full operation in the Autumnof 1953. Dow Chemical Company is the operator. Field office personnel totaled 22 December 31, and Dow employees totaled 1, 063. pots 72o 15