F5. The Head of the K Reactor is visible through a 4-foot thick window of lead-glass shielding. Uranium metal targets were placed inside this reactor and bombarded with neutrons to convert some of the depleted uranium-238 metal into weapons-grade plutonium-239. The K reactor also bombarded lithium targets to make tritium, a gas used to boost the explosive power of nuclear weapons. Savannah River Site, South Carolina. 7 January 1994.
These photographs by Robert Del Tredici are protected by copyright and are available for purchase as high-quality digital prints on archival paper or as silver gelatin prints from bdeltredici@hotmail.com.