Occupational Energy Research Program

Pantex Plant

Located near Amarillo, Texas, the Pantex Plant has undergone many changes since it was built in the 1940s. In 1942, the plant was constructed by the Army to prepare artillery shells and bombs for World War II efforts. It stopped operating in the mid-1940s after the war ended and was sold to what is now Texas Tech University. Since then, the plant has been used to refurbish nuclear weapons and explosives, and is currently used to maintain the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile and dismantle weapons retired by the military.

Fact sheets

Nuclear workers from the Pantex Plant have been included in a few NIOSH studies. Below are fact sheets that summarize some of the study findings for workers.

Mortality update for the Pantex Weapons Facility (2005)
(PDF Document) 68.80KB (2 pages)

Publications from NIOSH studies done at Pantex

Mortality update for the Pantex Weapons Facility. (2005) Final Report; 31 pgs.

The health effects of downsizing in the nuclear industry: Pantex. (2000) Final Report.
(PDF Document) 469.70KB (150 pages)

Study of mortality among female nuclear weapons workers. (2000)

Supplementary documentation for an environmental impact statement regarding the Pantex Plant: Occupational work force mortality study. (1982)

Medical screening programs available to workers

Building Trades National Medical Screening Program
External link: http://www.btmed.org
To learn more, call 1-800-866-9663