Oak Ridge: The Manhattan Project & Massive Asbestos Exposure
Oak Ridge, Tennessee holds a unique and devastating place in American asbestos exposure history. In 1942, the U.S. government secretly acquired 60,000 acres of land in East Tennessee to build three enormous nuclear facilities as part of the Manhattan Project — the effort to develop the first atomic bomb. Oak Ridge was literally a secret city: it did not appear on maps, its workers were not told the purpose of their labor, and its population grew from zero to 75,000 in just two years. The scale and speed of construction meant that asbestos-containing materials were used extensively throughout all three facilities.
K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant
The K-25 plant was built to enrich uranium using the gaseous diffusion process. When completed, it was the largest building in the world under one roof, covering approximately 44 acres. The uranium enrichment process involved thousands of miles of piping carrying corrosive uranium hexafluoride gas at varying temperatures and pressures — every inch of which was insulated with asbestos-containing materials. Workers who constructed, operated, and maintained the K-25 facility worked in an environment saturated with asbestos insulation on pipes, valves, compressors, heat exchangers, and building infrastructure. The sheer scale of asbestos use at K-25 was staggering.
Y-12 National Security Complex
The Y-12 facility was built for electromagnetic separation of uranium isotopes and later transitioned to nuclear weapons component manufacturing. Asbestos was used throughout Y-12 in pipe insulation, boiler systems, electrical wiring insulation, building materials, and equipment gaskets. Workers in maintenance, construction, and operations roles at Y-12 were exposed to asbestos over decades of facility operation and renovation.
X-10 (Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
The X-10 site, originally the Clinton Pile — the world's first continuously operating nuclear reactor — evolved into Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Asbestos was used in reactor insulation, laboratory building materials, piping systems, and heating infrastructure throughout the facility. Research staff, maintenance workers, and construction crews were all exposed to asbestos during X-10's decades of operation.
Oak Ridge Workers: Special Federal Compensation May Apply
Workers at Oak Ridge nuclear facilities (K-25, Y-12, and X-10) and their families may qualify for compensation under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA), which provides benefits to DOE workers and contractors who developed illnesses from workplace exposure. This federal program is in addition to standard mesothelioma legal claims including personal injury lawsuits and asbestos trust fund claims. Our attorneys can help you pursue all available compensation sources simultaneously.
