The APRF is located on the military reservation of Aberdeen Proving
Ground (APG), in southeastern Harford County, Maryland. The Reactor
Building is at the center of the facility.
This building is a windowless, circular structure with aluminum siding.
Inside, the building is 100 feet in diameter and 65 feet high. There
is a roll-up door in the south wall for the passage of the reactor
transporter to the outdoor test site and another in the west wall for
the access of vehicles to the building. A shielded stairway and maze
provides access from the underground Control Building. This concrete
structure provides radiological shielding for the personnel and
controls associated with the operation of the reactor and the conduct
of experiments.
The area within a ~450-yard radius of the Reactor Building constitutes
the APRF high-radiation area defined by a 10-foot anti-personnel fence.
This high-radiation area is in turn surrounded by a nearly concentric
restricted area defined at its outer boundary by a barbed wire warning
fence at a radius of ~1500 yards from the Reactor Building.
The Laboratory Building, located at the periphery of the restricted
area, houses the administrative and support personnel for the APRF.
Access to APRF is controlled at this point.
[Illustration: APRF Reactor Core Assembly]
[Illustration]