Aug 23, 2023 1 min read

Canonsburg’s ties to the atomic bomb

From the movie “Oppenheimer” and some independent research, I learned that it took three years for the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. This is the same amount of time the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the University of Pittsburgh took for their long-term studies on a group of rare childhood cancers in Washington County. I believe there are a few more parallels between the two.

“Oppenheimer”neglected to mention Canonsburg’s role and sacrifices in the processing of uranium and the development of the atomic bomb. Back in the 1920s, physicist Marie Curie did a few studies in Canonsburg. These studies led to the processing and storing of significant amounts of uranium in Canonsburg. Curie’s studies of radiation were very important and in the development of the atomic bomb and future scientific discoveries with radium.

At the end of the movie and life of Oppenheimer, he and Albert Einstein seemingly regretted their roles in developing the atomic bomb and the results that led to an unknown number of deaths.

Dennis Smiddle

Canonsburg