The Blue Line
The Y‑12 “Blue Line,” marking the property boundary of the Y‑12 site. View larger image
Ever wonder how Y‑12’s “Blue Line” boundary got its name? To find out, we have to go back almost 30 years to the increasing number of antinuclear weapon protestors and the light blue logo of the site contractor.
Y‑12 historian Ray Smith says that in the early 1980s antinuclear weapon protests became an every–Sunday event as three or four people stood around the big Y‑12 sign at the corner of Bear Creek and Scarboro roads. As the numbers grew upwards of 50 sometimes, plant manager Gordon Fee and Hershel Hickman of DOE‑ORO began to discuss the authority of the guard force if protestors were to move toward the plant.
“Realizing that protecting the site from intruders was appropriate and could be done brought on a discussion about exactly where the boundary was, particularly at the roadways.
Before long, the decision came to “paint a line on the road.” But what color? Yellow, white, and any other designated traffic color were immediately out of the running.
A Union Carbide Nuclear Division logo lapel pin from the past. View larger image
However, one potential hue was surely in good supply at Y‑12, which was operated at that time by Union Carbide Nuclear Division. The color was of course “Carbide blue,” which may be seen today on old logo lapel pins.
The “Blue Line” remains where it was originally painted on the east and west ends of Bear Creek Road to let the public know exactly where the government 229 boundary is and the point they are not to cross.
The “Blue Line” on the west end is located about 200 feet west of Post 20 where the new 229 fence runs north and south. The descriptor “229” points to where Y‑12’s borders are defined — in Sect. 229 of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended.
