A new look at Y-12's 'dry room'

The so-called dry room is a high-security facility inside the Y-12 National Security Complex where nuclear warhead parts are assembled, and the area is sometimes known as the place where workers wear moon suits.

According to information provided by B&W, the government's managing contractor at Y-12, "The 'dry room' is an assembly area used to assemble secondaries and canned subassemblies. Atmospheric moisture is maintained at just a few parts per million. Workers in this area wear special suits to maintain this very low level of atmospheric moisture. These rooms are also known as 'environmental rooms.' "

The photograph, at right, was taken earlier this year. You can compare that with what the suited workers looked like in the 1997 photo (inset left).

So-called secondaries are the second stage of thermonuclear weapons, and that is Y-12's key role in the nuclear weapons production complex. The inside joke at the Oak Ridge plant is that Y-12 puts the "boom" in "ka-boom."

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