Birthplace of the atomic bomb braces for its biggest mission since the top-secret Manhattan Project
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press
LOS ALAMOS, N.M. (AP) — Los Alamos was the perfect spot for the U.S. government’s top-secret Manhattan Project. Almost overnight, the ranching enclave on a remote plateau in northern New Mexico was transformed into a makeshift home for scientists, engineers and young soldiers racing to develop the world’s first atomic bomb. The community is facing growing pains again, 80 years later, as Los Alamos National Laboratory takes part in the nation’s most ambitious nuclear weapons effort since World War II. The mission calls for modernizing the arsenal with droves of new workers producing plutonium cores that will be used to modernize nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, critics question the need and the cost.
