functions of: Research and development, product design, test and evaluation, quality assurance, and preparation of standards for stockpile surveillance. It performed only developmental and engineering production, including fabrication and assembly of nuclear components,
Rocky Flats plant, operated by Dow Chemical Company, when fully operative would be
the nuclear production agency with full responsibility subject to AEC controls and to LASL
technical supervision, probably for all weapons types, It would have responsibility for:
Production (process) engineering; fabrication of uranium and plutonium units in its own plant,
and procurement from AEC fabrication plants; receipt, inspection, and assembly of nuclear
capsules, and shipment to stockpile; other phases of final inspection and assembly; other
phases of nuclear production procurement; and assisting Los Alamos in process engineering

during development by coordinating startup of new production at the other installations.
Included in the production system were:
Mound Laboratory, for initiator fabrication (reports to OROO);
Industrial sources, for container fabrication;

Oak Ridge (OROO), Hanford (HOO), and Savannah (SROO) for
nuclear fabrication.

Procurement flowed from AEC plants and from private industry to the production
agency; and final product flowéd from the production agency to stockpile.
The High Explosive System
LASL remained the development agency for HE and detonator components, retaining

technical functions only. It performed only developmental or prototype production, including
fabrication and assembly. (As of July 1, 1953, shipment of detonators wasstill from producer to LASL but agreement had been reached to ship from producerto stockpile. )
Inyokern (California) Salt Wells Pilot Plant, operated by Navy Ordnance, performed

process engineering, tooling design, and pilot plant for new HE, other HE fabrication and
assembly,

Burlington (Iowa) plant, contract with Army Ordnance for operation by Silas-Mason

Company, and Pantex (Texas) plant, contract with Army Ordnance for operation by Procter

& Gamble Defense Corporation, performed HE production and weapon assembly.

Spoon River (Illinois) plant was under construction, to be operated by Thompson
Products Company, initially for HE production and assembly. A second Project Plum was
projected, in view of existing requirements, for HE production and weapon assembly, perhaps through addition of production lines at Burlington and Pantex,
Picatinny Arsenal (New Jersey), operated by Army Ordnance, performed detonator

production,

.

ALG 9

It was projected that over a period of years as Thompson Products developed a capa-

bility, responsibility would be transferred there for Inyokern's process engineering, tooling design, ard pilot plant operation.

Spoon River would thus become the leadoff plant on

production of new models and development and procurementfor the entire high explosive
system.
Jena

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en

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