American Historical Ephemera and Photography

18 x 11 1/2 in. bound collection of assorted issues of The Atomizer ranging from Volumes I No. 1-10, Volume II No. 1-26, and Volume III No 1-17, and printed between 1953 and 1955 (Toning and flaking to the edges, some splits forming through the punched holes and on the outermost sheets of paper.)

The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant began construction in the Winter of 1952, and began operations by 1955, just one year before the plant was made fully operational. Built under the auspices of the Atomic Energy Commission, the plant took its name from nearby Portsmouth, Ohio, and manufactured highly enriched Uranium intended for nuclear weapons production. Consequently, the various issues of The Atomizer discuss a wide range of subjects from the achievements of employee and local sports teams to general workplace safety and maintaining security within the facility. So important were the latter two subjects that the title page of each issue is flanked by the words "Think Safety Pays You" and "Be Security Conscious".

10 x 5 1/2 in. silver gelatin photograph of factory employees dining in the cafeteria. A handwritten note on the obverse side reads "B.F. Brown (Top) 3x" (curling at the edges, some scratches, and a crease through the left side).

Though the plant closed in 2001, the site is undergoing cleanup and decontamination after nearly fifty years of continuous operation. This bound volume provides a look into the day-to-day operations and life of the people responsible for harvesting the nuclear materials that armed American warheads and fueled reactors during a period of heightened international tension in the aftermath of the Korean War.