Morgantown, West Virginia

Construction of the Morgantown Ordnance Works, Aeration Towers, Factory Building, Catalyst and Caustic Plants.

Morgantown Ordnance Works

The Morgantown Ordnance Works, under the DuPont Company, began production of various chemical solutions in 1940 for military use. Employing over 1,400 people on 826 acres, DuPont was one of Morgantown’s largest employers, creating a local housing crisis from the flood of new workers in the area. In 1943, DuPont was awarded the contract for the Manhattan Project’s Project 9 (P-9). The P-9 sites were the Morgantown Ordnance Works in West Virginia, Alabama Ordnance Works in Alabama, and Wabash River Ordnance Works in Indiana.

Morgantown Ordnance Works, like the other P-9 sites, produced heavy water (D₂O). D₂O is like water (H₂O), except the hydrogen isotope is called “deuterium” and contains a neutron. D₂O is about 10% more dense than regular water and melts at a higher temperature. D₂O moderates nuclear reactions to slow down the neutrons and sustain the chain reaction. Morgantown was chosen as the last stop for all D₂O to undergo its final process: electrolytic finishing. The process removes the normal, lighter hydrogen and leaves a heavier hydrogen isotope.

The nation’s first heavy-water-moderated nuclear reactor, known as Chicago Pile 3, was constructed at Site A, a research facility about 10 miles from the University of Chicago. Chicago Pile 3 achieved criticality in May 1944, nearly two years after the world’s first sustained nuclear chain reaction, Chicago Pile 1, which used graphite as the moderator.

The process to create D₂O took considerable time, and all three sites constantly fell short of their production quotas of 4,800 lbs. per month. After World War II, graphite became the favored nuclear reactor moderator, lowering the demand for D₂O.

For the decade after closure in 1945, the site was leased to various chemical research companies, then sat vacant. In 1962, a local industrialist acquired the site and converted it into an industrial park.

Various chemicals produced at the site contaminated the area’s landfill, lagoons, and soil, according to a 1984 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report. Because of the chemical contamination, Morgantown Ordnance Works was added to the National Priority List in 1986. The site was removed from the National Priority List in 2018 when the site cleanup goals were met.

Bibliography

Atomic Heritage Foundation, 2017. “Heavy Water Reactors,” https://ahf.nuclearmuseum.org/ahf/history/heavy-water-reactors/, accessed November 27, 2024. 

Fiore, J., 1987. J. Fiore, director Division of Facility and Site Decommissioning Projects, Office of Nuclear Energy, letter (about AL.02-1) to C. Schafer, director of environmental policy, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Installations, https://lmpublicsearch.lm.doe.gov/lmsites/5899-al.02-1.pdf, accessed November 27, 2024. 

Hadden, Gavin, ed. 1947. “Book III, The P-9 Project.” In Manhattan District History. Washington, D.C.: United States Atomic Energy. Commission.https://www.osti.gov/includes/opennet/includes/MED_scans/Book%20III%20-%20The%20P-9%20Project.pdf  

“Manhattan District History – Book III – The P-9 Project.” April 8, 1947 https://www.osti.gov/includes/opennet/includes/MED_scans/Book%20III%20-%20The%20P-9%20Project.pdf accessed February 7, 2025. 

United States Environmental Agency, Superfund Site. Ordnance Works Disposal Areas Morgantown, WV. https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.cleanup&id=0302884#content . Accessed February 14, 2025.