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Operations began at the Savannah River Plant (SRP) in Aiken, South Carolina
with the start up of a heavy water plant. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
built SRP to produce materials, such as tritium and plutonium, for nuclear and
thermonuclear (hydrogen) weapons. Tritium is a radioactive isotope, or form, of
hydrogen used in thermonuclear weapons.
The AEC chose the 200,000-acre site along the Savannah River in western South
Carolina primarily for the millions of gallons of water available for cooling
the production reactors. The AEC bought land from and relocated approximately
6,000 residents in six surrounding communities.
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