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166:(NNSA)), the Army exercised a recapture clause in the sale contract and reclaimed the main plant and 10,000 acres (40 km) of surrounding land for use as a nuclear weapons production facility. The Atomic Energy Commission refurbished and expanded the plant at a cost of $ 25 million. The remaining 6,000 acres (24 km) of the original site were leased from Texas Tech in 1989.
339:
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In 1986 activists from the Red River Peace
Network purchased 20 acres (81,000 m) adjacent to Pantex to create the "Peace Farm", described as "a visible witness against weapons of mass destruction." Its staff and board organized events, rallies, and gatherings opposing nuclear weapons through the
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site, having found toxic chemicals, including radionuclides, in over a hundred places in its soil and groundwater. This was due to improper waste management practices for the materials in question, like storing wastewater in unlined ponds, burying waste in unlined landfills, and burning waste in the
216:
in some of the counties surrounding Pantex, but the counties closest to the plant (Armstrong and Carson) had no significant increase in cancer rates. The agency concluded that the plant was not likely to be associated with these findings. A 2005 NIOSH study of cancer rates among Pantex workers over
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personnel nearing retirement. In protest 500 guards walked off the job and went on strike in April 2007 and were replaced with a temporary guard force. The strike ended with a negotiated settlement after 34 days. Guards also went on strike in a pay dispute in 1981, and unionized production and
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warhead while dismantling it. POGO said unidentified experts knowledgeable about the event told it of the danger. The U.S. Department of Energy fined the contractor running the plant at the time,
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as well as changing institutional practices at the plant, the EPA oversaw a cleanup that they said made the site safe in the short term as of 2009, although their long-term cleanup of the site's
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144:. The Pantex Ordnance Plant was authorized February 24, 1942. Construction was completed on November 15, 1942 and workers from all over the U.S. flocked to Amarillo for jobs.
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As a major national security site, the plant and its grounds are strictly controlled, and the airspace above and around the plant is prohibited to civilian air traffic by the
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with length of employment, leading the authors to recommend follow-up research to investigate whether the working conditions of those employees was the cause. In 2013, the
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reported that some Pantex employees had been awarded financial compensation by the U.S. government after developing health problems that may have been related to
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There has been perennial interest in whether conditions at the plant have led to health problems in its workers or the surrounding communities. In 1998, the
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Labor troubles arose in 2007 following the implementation of stricter physical and performance requirements for armed security personnel following the
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320:(POGO) claimed that Pantex workers could have caused a nuclear explosion when they improperly applied too much pressure on an obsolete
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62:
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101:
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328:, $ 110,000 for incidents involving the bomb, but did not mention any possibility of an explosion or identify the warhead.
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tried persuading
Catholic workers at the plant to leave their jobs, offering financial support to those who would do so.
137:
70:
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Pantex was abruptly deactivated when the war ended and remained vacant until 1949, when Texas
Technological College in
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1990s and now organizes events related to the environment, nuclear proliferation and waste disposal, and peace issues.
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assembly and disassembly facility that aims to maintain the safety, security and reliability of the
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155:) purchased the site for $ 1. Texas Tech used the land for experimental cattle-feeding operations.
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the timespan 1951–1995 found that they had a stastistically-significant increase in occurrence of
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on a 16,000-acre (25 sq mi; 65 km) site 20 miles (32 km) northeast of
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133:
494:. U.S. Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. Archived from
788:
Annotated bibliography for Pantex from the Alsos
Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
141:
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for the Pantex guards protested that the new standards were unfairly strenuous to
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In 2010, the plant employed about 3,600 people and had a budget of $ 600 million.
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in
Tennessee, a manufacturing facility for nuclear weapons components.
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Technicians perform final assembly on a nuclear warhead, circa 1985
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521:"Update for the Pantex Weapons Facility: Final Report (2005-124)"
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Bunkers at Pantex used for temporary staging of nuclear weapons.
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In 1977, three men were killed in an explosion while machining
400:
350:
Mortality Update for the Pantex
Weapons Facility: Final Report
321:
769:"Dismantling the Bomb, Or What I Did On My Summer Vacation"
704:"Relatives of 3 Killed in Blast At Nuclear Plant Lose Suit"
448:
ATSDR - PHA - Pantex Plant, Amarillo, Carson County, Texas
421:
760:
120:
Conventional weapons being assembled at Pantex in 1944
581:. United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
355:
National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
850:
Nuclear weapons infrastructure of the United States
93:as a teaming subcontractor. CNS also operates the
132:The Pantex plant was originally constructed as a
840:Buildings and structures in Carson County, Texas
679:"Negotiations paused as Pantex strike continues"
202:Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
49:. The facility is named for its location in the
642:. U.S. News & World Report. April 30, 2007.
654:"Guards Go on Strike at Nuclear Weapons Plant"
550:"Sickened Pantex workers could get more cash"
300:maintenance workers struck in 1970 and 2015.
8:
443:
441:
61:. The plant is managed and operated for the
733:"Watchdog: Firm nearly detonated nuke bomb"
274:In the early 1980s, local Catholic Bishop
426:CNS – Consolidated Nuclear Security, LLC
164:National Nuclear Security Administration
29:
460:"History – About Pantex – Pantex Plant"
361:
575:"Superfund Site: PANTEX PLANT (USDOE)"
73:. CNS is composed of member companies
27:U.S. nuclear weapons assembly facility
556:. Amarillo, Texas. September 15, 2013
529:Publications and Products - Mortality
7:
416:
414:
20:. For the South Korean company, see
793:Pantex links at Nuclearpathways.org
731:Nesmith, Jeff (December 15, 2006).
860:United States Department of Energy
599:Cartwright, Gary (November 1994).
63:United States Department of Energy
14:
188:Health and environmental concerns
342: This article incorporates
337:
318:Project on Government Oversight
249:open. Using techniques such as
158:In 1951, at the request of the
95:Y-12 National Security Complex
47:U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile
1:
67:Consolidated Nuclear Security
41:is the primary United States
16:For photography company, see
138:United States Army Air Force
71:Sandia National Laboratories
876:
845:Economy of Amarillo, Texas
629:Retrieved November 9, 2016
15:
369:Gross, Daniel A. (2016).
206:statistically significant
140:during the early days of
855:Superfund sites in Texas
816:35.311568°N 101.559725°W
601:"Disarmed and Dangerous"
160:Atomic Energy Commission
261:is ongoing as of 2024.
208:incidence of increased
177:from 1956 to 2001, and
169:Pantex was operated by
821:35.311568; -101.559725
344:public domain material
313:, a plastic explosive.
289:September 11th attacks
244:listed the plant as a
197:
129:
121:
35:
640:Fit to Guard Weapons?
251:soil vapor extraction
195:
153:Texas Tech University
127:
119:
33:
775:on December 30, 2003
401:"About Pantex Plant"
179:Babcock & Wilcox
171:Procter & Gamble
106:Prohibited Area P-47
59:Carson County, Texas
812: /
554:Amarillo Globe-News
259:perched groundwater
227:Amarillo Globe-News
181:from 2001 to 2014.
173:from 1951 to 1956,
91:Booz Allen Hamilton
737:Arizona Daily Star
709:The New York Times
198:
175:Mason & Hanger
130:
122:
51:Panhandle of Texas
36:
712:. October 3, 1980
609:. Amarillo, Texas
501:on 22 August 2008
265:Public opposition
214:low birth weights
134:conventional bomb
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304:Safety incidents
276:Leroy Matthiesen
231:depleted uranium
223:multiple myeloma
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371:"An Aging Army"
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219:prostate cancer
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43:nuclear weapons
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754:External links
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627:The Peace Farm
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531:. June 6, 2014
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464:www.pantex.com
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405:www.pantex.com
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293:worker's union
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283:Labor troubles
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255:bioremediation
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136:plant for the
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606:Texas Monthly
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579:EPA Superfund
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489:"Pantex Info"
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470:on 2014-09-09
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375:Distillations
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316:In 2005, the
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240:In 1994, the
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797:
777:. Retrieved
773:the original
740:. Retrieved
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714:. Retrieved
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686:. Retrieved
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661:. Retrieved
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611:. Retrieved
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583:. Retrieved
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558:. Retrieved
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533:. Retrieved
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503:. Retrieved
496:the original
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472:. Retrieved
468:the original
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429:. Retrieved
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383:. Retrieved
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142:World War II
131:
99:
38:
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34:Pantex plant
819: /
807:101°33′35″W
761:"Home page"
505:26 November
297:middle-aged
83:Orbital ATK
834:Categories
804:35°18′42″N
742:October 5,
688:August 27,
663:August 27,
613:2024-01-15
585:2024-01-15
560:2024-01-15
535:2016-07-15
474:2016-07-15
431:2017-09-09
381:(1): 26–36
237:exposure.
212:rates and
69:(CNS) and
779:March 24,
333:Footnotes
246:Superfund
162:(now the
65:(DOE) by
385:22 March
55:Amarillo
716:July 9,
422:"About"
235:thorium
149:Lubbock
112:History
89:, with
75:Bechtel
22:Pantech
525:CDC -
291:. The
210:cancer
85:, and
79:Leidos
39:Pantex
18:Pentax
527:NIOSH
499:(PDF)
492:(PDF)
346:from
311:LX-09
151:(now
57:, in
781:2013
744:2011
718:2020
690:2016
665:2016
507:2011
387:2018
326:BWXT
253:and
221:and
322:W56
242:EPA
233:or
104:as
102:FAA
87:SOC
836::
735:.
706:.
681:.
656:.
603:.
577:.
552:.
523:.
462:.
440:^
424:.
413:^
403:.
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389:.
379:2
357:.
24:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
