Red Gate Woods facts for kids

Red Gate Woods is a special forest preserve area in Illinois, part of the larger Palos Division of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. It's located near where two important waterways, the Cal-Sag Channel and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal, come together.

This area is famous because it was once home to the first nuclear reactor ever built by humans, called Chicago Pile-1. This reactor was a secret project during World War II and was part of the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bombs. Today, the remains of this reactor and other nuclear materials are safely buried here at a spot known as Site A/Plot M. The site is now open to the public and is carefully watched over by the United States Department of Energy.

A Secret History

During the 1940s and 1950s, this part of the forest preserve was given a secret code name: Argonne. It was leased by local officials to the Manhattan Project and later to Argonne National Laboratory.

The First Reactor

The first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, was originally built and tested at the University of Chicago's Stagg Field. After its first successful tests, the reactor was taken apart and moved to this secret location in the woods. Here, it was rebuilt and continued to be used for experiments. This new location was called "Site A."

Guarded Secrets

Local people living near the woods during World War II sometimes saw US Army soldiers guarding the area. However, they had no idea what important and secret work was happening there until many years after the war ended.

Burying the Past

After more experiments, Chicago Pile-1 (which was then called Pile 2) was shut down. A very large hole was dug, and the two-story-tall reactor was carefully pushed into it and buried. This burial site was named "Plot M." Other reactors were also built at Site A, and some nuclear waste was buried there too.

Cleaning Up the Site

By the 1970s, people started to worry about the levels of radioactivity at the site. Many local residents used the woods for fun activities like hiking.

Checking for Radioactivity

In the 1980s, scientists did surveys to check the area. They found small amounts of certain radioactive materials, like strontium-90, plutonium, and uranium, in the soil at Plot M. They also found tiny traces of tritium in nearby water wells.

Making it Safe

Because of public concern, the United States Department of Energy and Argonne National Laboratory decided to clean up the site. In 1994, they set aside a lot of money for this important work. As part of the cleanup, about 500 cubic yards of radioactive waste were removed from Red Gate Woods. This waste was then sent to a special disposal site far away at the Hanford Site.

By 2002, the Illinois Department of Public Health announced that the materials remaining at Red Gate Woods were safe and did not pose a danger to public health.

Visiting Red Gate Woods

Today, Red Gate Woods is a peaceful place for people to enjoy nature.

Historical Markers

When you visit the parking lot, you can see signs that show famous scientists like Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi at the Red Gate Woods site during the Manhattan Project. There are also concrete markers that point out important historical spots. You can even see the old foundations of the labs where the secret Manhattan Project experiments took place.