Machons are the various buildings and facilities within the [[Dimona]] nuclear complex in [[Israel]]. As described by [[Mordecai Vanunu]], the complex includes the reactor and at least eight other self-contained buildings, each with a specific function in the nuclear production process. The entire complex is a testament to Israeli ingenuity and secrecy, with significant portions constructed underground to conceal their true purpose.[^1] ### Machon 1 (The Reactor) Machon 1 is the large, silver-domed reactor, sixty feet in diameter, prominently visible from the nearby highway. This reactor is cooled and moderated by heavy water, with uranium fuel rods remaining inside for three months. Unlike a typical nuclear power plant that would use the generated steam to drive a turbine and create electricity, the steam in Machon 1 is vented directly into the atmosphere. This process creates a radioactive cloud, which, according to Vanunu, was intentionally vented only on days when prevailing winds would carry it towards the [[Jordanian]] border, approximately twenty-five miles to the east. Such a venting was reportedly photographed by Army Colonel [[Carmelo V. Alba]] in 1965, providing the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] with concrete evidence that [[Dimona]] was operational.[^1] ### Machon 2 (The Tunnel - Chemical Reprocessing Plant) Machon 2, informally known as the Tunnel, is the most essential and sensitive facility at [[Dimona]]. It is a six-level, highly automated chemical reprocessing plant, dug to a depth of eighty feet underground. Its surface appearance is that of an ordinary administration building—a nondescript, two-story, windowless structure, eighty by two hundred feet, containing a workers' canteen, shower rooms, offices, and warehouse space. The building features thickly reinforced walls, a safety measure given its location. A bank of elevators on the top floor was routinely bricked over before foreign visitors, such as American inspection teams led by [[Floyd L. Culler, Jr.]], were permitted to enter, effectively concealing the underground operations. No outsider is known to have ever entered the reprocessing plant itself.[^1] Within Machon 2, plutonium, a by-product of the fission process in the reactor, is chemically extracted from spent uranium rods. These rods must first be cooled for weeks in water-filled tanks to reduce radioactivity by several thousand times before reprocessing can begin. Even then, the rods remain lethal and are handled exclusively by remote control from behind lead shielding. The production hall, where the spent uranium rods undergo reprocessing, dominates levels one through four underground. Work here is monitored from a large control room, which includes an observation area known to technicians as "Golda's Balcony," a reference to [[Golda Meir]]'s frequent visits after she became prime minister.[^1] According to Vanunu, the chemical processing results in a weekly average of nine "buttons" of pure plutonium, with a combined weight of 1.2 kilograms. The Tunnel operates around the clock for thirty-four weeks a year, shutting down from July to November for routine maintenance and repair. The reprocessing methods employed are described as routine, utilizing industrial solvents and solutions similar to those used at the Savannah River Plant in [[South Carolina]]. If Vanunu's reported production rate of 1.2 kilograms weekly is accurate, the reactor would need to operate at approximately 120 to 150 megawatts—more than five times its officially stated output—and consume nearly one hundred tons of uranium ore annually, producing enough enriched materials for four to a dozen or more bombs a year, depending on warhead design.[^1] ### Machon 3 Machon 3 is responsible for converting lithium 6 into a solid form, which is then prepared for insertion into nuclear warheads. Additionally, this facility processes natural uranium for use in the reactor.[^1] ### Machon 4 This building houses the waste treatment plant, which manages the radioactive residue generated from the chemical reprocessing activities conducted in Machon 2.[^1] ### Machon 5 Machon 5 is where the uranium rods, after being processed in Machon 3, are coated with aluminum. This coating prepares them for consumption within the reactor. Once stacked in the reactor's core, these rods provide the necessary fuel to sustain a chain reaction and capture weapons-grade isotopes of plutonium.[^1] ### Machon 6 Machon 6 serves as a central utility and power facility, providing basic services and energy for the entire [[Dimona]] complex.[^1] ### Machon 8 Machon 8 contains a laboratory dedicated to testing samples and experimenting with new manufacturing processes. It is also the site of Special Unit 840, where Israeli scientists have developed a gas centrifuge method for enriching uranium, specifically for weapons applications.[^1] ### Machon 9 This facility is equipped with a laser-isotope-reprocessing system, which is used for the enrichment of uranium.[^1] ### Machon 10 Machon 10 is where depleted uranium—uranium with very little or no uranium 235 remaining—is chemically isolated. This depleted uranium is then prepared for eventual shipment to the Israeli Defense Force or for sale to arms manufacturers in [[Europe]] and elsewhere, where it is used in the production of bullets, armor plating, and artillery and bomb shells.[^1] ### Warhead Fabrication and Assembly Within Machon 2, on level five, the plutonium is fabricated by machine in a secure area. This is the only floor to which [[Mordecai Vanunu]] was denied access. This level contains separate, isolated rooms where weapons-grade plutonium, now in metal form, is stored inside sealed glove boxes filled with argon, an inert gas. Workers manipulate remote-controlled robotic devices by hand to mold plutonium pellets into microscopically thin hemispheres for insertion into nuclear warheads. Other chemicals crucial to the Israeli nuclear arsenal, such as lithium compounds and beryllium, are also machine-fabricated on this level. The milling process requires exquisite machinery due to the extremely tight tolerances necessary for a functional bomb core; even a microscopic flaw can significantly reduce the yield or lead to a failure.[^1] Once completed, the weapons parts are transported by convoys of unmarked cars, under armed guard, to another undisclosed facility north of [[Dimona]] for final assembly into warheads. Israeli officials have indicated that this final stage of warhead production occurs at a defense plant north of [[Haifa]], operated by [[Rafael]], [[Israel]]'s top-secret research and manufacturing agency responsible for its most sensitive weaponry.[^1] ### Footnotes [^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 15.