Kodak ran uranium device under lab for three decades

Kodak, the Rochester-based photography giant, maintained a uranium-based nuclear device in its laboratory for more than three decades, according to recent reports. The equipment was installed in 1975 and remained operational until 2006, serving the company's materials research and quality control functions.

The machine utilised highly enriched uranium to generate neutrons through controlled nuclear fission. While it produced the neutrons needed for examining materials and detecting impurities in photographic products, the device was fundamentally different from a conventional nuclear reactor—it could not sustain an independent chain reaction.

The existence of the equipment remained largely unremarked until 2012, when public disclosure of the device's uranium content drew attention to Kodak's long-running nuclear research programme. The revelation raised questions about the company's use of radioactive materials and the regulatory oversight of such operations at private industrial facilities.

Kodak's decision to shut down the device in 2006 reflected broader shifts in industrial research practices and changing regulatory environments surrounding the handling of weapons-grade nuclear materials. The company's three-decade operation of the equipment underscored the significant role nuclear technology played in twentieth-century manufacturing and quality assurance processes across various industries.