Krasnoyarsk-26 Underground Plutonium Plant (Zheleznogorsk)

Russia / Krasnojarsk / Devyatka, Krasnoyarsk-26, Zheleznogorsk / Zheleznogorsk
 military, production, underground facility, nuclear reprocessing site
Cover name: "Mining and Chemical Combine". This was the most spectacular underground facility of the Cold War - a complete plutonium production complex tunneled into a solid granite mountain. Production reactors:

AD 1958-1992 1,800 megawatts
ADE-1 1961-1992 1,800 megawatts
ADE-2 1964-???? 1,800 megawatts

Camouflage of the plant was ruined by dumping the tunneling spoil on site, and the site
was discovered by a CIA photographic balloon in 1956, long before it was operational. Its purpose was revealed by the tall smokestack used to vent radioactive gases from the
Pu separation plant.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   56°19'46"N   93°36'13"E
This article was last modified 10 years ago