Oak Ridge National Laboratory was completed, later renamed to "Oak Ridge National Laboratory". The site was chosen for the X-10 Graphite Reactor, used to show that plutonium can be created from enriched uranium. Enrico Fermi and his colleagues developed the world's second self-sustaining nuclear reactor after Fermi's previous experiment, the Chicago Pile-1. The X-10 was the first reactor designed for continuous operation. After the end of World War II the demand for weapons-grade plutonium fell and the reactor and the laboratory's 1000 employees were no longer involved in nuclear weapons. Instead, it was used for scientific research. In 1946 the first medical isotopes were
Nuclear Reactor Operator Badge Nuclear Reactor Operator Badge The Nuclear Reactor Operator Badge is a decoration of the United States Army which was issued between the years of 1965 and 1990. In 1991, the decoration was declared obsolete by Army Regulation 600-8-22, but uniform regulations permit the continued wearing of badges awarded before then. The Nuclear Reactor Operator Badge is worn above the ribbons over the left pocket flap of the Army uniform, in the same position as the Parachutist Badge. The Nuclear Reactor Operator Badge was first authorized on June 18, 1965. The badge was issued in four degrees; the basic badge was