Settlers moved into the region in the 1860s, initially along the Columbia River south of Priest Rapids.
The program was accelerated in 1942, as the United States government became concerned that scientists in Nazi Germany were developing a nuclear weapons program. On March 10, 1945, the Hanford Plutonium Works had been temporarily shut down due to Japanese bomb carrying balloon attacks, which had been ongoing since November 3, 1944.
The war ended two days later, on September 2, 1945. === Site selection === In September 1942, the Army Corps of Engineers placed the newly formed Manhattan Project under the command of Brigadier General Leslie R.
The site has been known by many names, including Hanford Project, Hanford Works, Hanford Engineer Works and Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project in Hanford, south-central Washington, the site was home to the B Reactor, the first full-scale plutonium production reactor in the world.
The Wanapum people were never forced onto a reservation, and they lived along the Columbia River in the Priest Rapids Valley until 1943.
General Groves visited the site in January 1943 and established the Hanford Engineer Works, codenamed "Site W".
The HEW used of concrete and 40,000 short tons (36,000 t) of structural steel and consumed $230 million between 1943 and 1946. === Plutonium production === The B Reactor (105-B) at Hanford was the first large-scale plutonium production reactor in the world.
Cooling water was pumped through the aluminium tubes around the uranium slugs at the rate of per minute. Construction on B Reactor began in August 1943 and was completed on September 13, 1944.
The program was accelerated in 1942, as the United States government became concerned that scientists in Nazi Germany were developing a nuclear weapons program. On March 10, 1945, the Hanford Plutonium Works had been temporarily shut down due to Japanese bomb carrying balloon attacks, which had been ongoing since November 3, 1944.
DuPont advertised for workers in newspapers for an unspecified "war construction project" in southeastern Washington, offering "attractive scale of wages" and living facilities. The construction workers (who reached a peak of 44,900 in June 1944) lived in a construction camp near the old Hanford townsite.
Cooling water was pumped through the aluminium tubes around the uranium slugs at the rate of per minute. Construction on B Reactor began in August 1943 and was completed on September 13, 1944.
The reactor went critical in late September and, after overcoming neutron poisoning, produced its first plutonium on November 6, 1944.
This first batch of plutonium was refined in the 221-T plant from December 26, 1944, to February 2, 1945, and delivered to the Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico on February 5, 1945. The material was used in Trinity, the first nuclear explosion, on July 16, 1945. Two identical reactors, D Reactor and F reactor, came online in December 1944 and February 1945, respectively.
As much as 75,000 gallons per minute was diverted from the Columbia River to cool the reactor. From 1944 to 1971, pump systems drew cooling water from the river and, after treating this water for use by the reactors, returned it to the river.
government report released in 1992 estimated that 685,000 curies (25.4 PBq) of radioactive iodine-131 had been released into the river and air from the Hanford site between 1944 and 1947. Beginning in the 1960s, scientists with the U.S.
The program was accelerated in 1942, as the United States government became concerned that scientists in Nazi Germany were developing a nuclear weapons program. On March 10, 1945, the Hanford Plutonium Works had been temporarily shut down due to Japanese bomb carrying balloon attacks, which had been ongoing since November 3, 1944.
The general public was not made aware of it, until August 31, 1945, when such information was released to the public.
The war ended two days later, on September 2, 1945. === Site selection === In September 1942, the Army Corps of Engineers placed the newly formed Manhattan Project under the command of Brigadier General Leslie R.
Before the end of the war in August 1945, the HEW built 554 buildings at Hanford, including three nuclear reactors (105-B, 105-D, and 105-F) and three plutonium processing canyons (221-T, 221-B, and 221-U), each long. To receive the radioactive wastes from the chemical separations process, the HEW built "tank farms" consisting of 64 single-shell underground waste tanks (241-B, 241-C, 241-T, and 241-U).
This first batch of plutonium was refined in the 221-T plant from December 26, 1944, to February 2, 1945, and delivered to the Los Alamos laboratory in New Mexico on February 5, 1945. The material was used in Trinity, the first nuclear explosion, on July 16, 1945. Two identical reactors, D Reactor and F reactor, came online in December 1944 and February 1945, respectively.
By April 1945, shipments of plutonium were headed to Los Alamos every five days, and Hanford soon provided enough material for the bombs tested at Trinity and dropped over Nagasaki.
Downwinders were exposed to radionuclides, particularly iodine-131, with the heaviest releases during the period from 1945 to 1951.
The HEW used of concrete and 40,000 short tons (36,000 t) of structural steel and consumed $230 million between 1943 and 1946. === Plutonium production === The B Reactor (105-B) at Hanford was the first large-scale plutonium production reactor in the world.
This method required early practical application of two technologies that later gained widespread use: Teflon, used as a gasket material, and closed-circuit television, used to give the crane operator a better view of the process. == Cold War expansion == In September 1946, the General Electric Company assumed management of the Hanford Works under the supervision of the newly created Atomic Energy Commission.
In August 1947, the Hanford Works announced funding for the construction of two new weapons reactors and research to develop a new chemical separations process, entering a new phase of expansion. By 1963, the Hanford Site was home to nine nuclear reactors along the Columbia River, five reprocessing plants on the central plateau, and more than 900 support buildings and radiological laboratories around the site.
government report released in 1992 estimated that 685,000 curies (25.4 PBq) of radioactive iodine-131 had been released into the river and air from the Hanford site between 1944 and 1947. Beginning in the 1960s, scientists with the U.S.
In 1949, an intentional release known as the "Green Run" released 8,000 Curies (296 Tbq) of iodine-131 over two days.
Downwinders were exposed to radionuclides, particularly iodine-131, with the heaviest releases during the period from 1945 to 1951.
Hanford was at its peak production from 1956 to 1965.
government report released in 1992 estimated that 685,000 curies (25.4 PBq) of radioactive iodine-131 had been released into the river and air from the Hanford site between 1944 and 1947. Beginning in the 1960s, scientists with the U.S.
In August 1947, the Hanford Works announced funding for the construction of two new weapons reactors and research to develop a new chemical separations process, entering a new phase of expansion. By 1963, the Hanford Site was home to nine nuclear reactors along the Columbia River, five reprocessing plants on the central plateau, and more than 900 support buildings and radiological laboratories around the site.
Due to prompt medical intervention, he survived the incident and died eleven years later of natural causes. === Decommissioning === Most of the reactors were shut down between 1964 and 1971, with an average individual life span of 22 years.
Hanford was at its peak production from 1956 to 1965.
Due to prompt medical intervention, he survived the incident and died eleven years later of natural causes. === Decommissioning === Most of the reactors were shut down between 1964 and 1971, with an average individual life span of 22 years.
As much as 75,000 gallons per minute was diverted from the Columbia River to cool the reactor. From 1944 to 1971, pump systems drew cooling water from the river and, after treating this water for use by the reactors, returned it to the river.
Hanford archaeologists have identified numerous Native American sites, including "pit house villages, open campsites, fish farming sites, hunting/kill sites, game drive complexes, quarries, and spirit quest sites", and two archaeological sites were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Uranium-233 was also produced. In 1976, a Hanford technician named Harold McCluskey received the largest recorded dose of americium following a laboratory accident.
B reactor was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service on August 19, 2008. == Later operations == The United States Department of Energy assumed control of the Hanford Site in 1977.
In response to an article in the Spokane Spokesman Review in September 1985, the Department of Energy announced to declassify environmental records and, in February 1986, released 19,000 pages of previously unavailable historical documents about Hanford's operations.
In response to an article in the Spokane Spokesman Review in September 1985, the Department of Energy announced to declassify environmental records and, in February 1986, released 19,000 pages of previously unavailable historical documents about Hanford's operations.
N Reactor operated until 1987.
Two tanks are reportedly leaking at a rate of 300 gallons (1,136 liters) per year each, while the remaining four tanks are leaking at a rate of 15 gallons (57 liters) per year each. === Occupational health concerns === Since 1987, workers have reported exposure to harmful vapors after working around underground nuclear storage tanks, with no solution found.
They recommended "proactively sampling the air inside tanks to determine its chemical makeup; accelerating new practices to prevent worker exposures; and modifying medical evaluations to reflect how workers are exposed to vapors". == Cleanup under superfund == On June 25, 1988, the Hanford site was divided into four areas and proposed for inclusion on the National Priorities List.
Many early safety procedures and waste disposal practices were inadequate, and government documents have confirmed that Hanford's operations released significant amounts of radioactive materials into the air and the Columbia River. In 1989, the State of Washington (Dept.
On May 15, 1989, the Washington Department of Ecology, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Energy entered into the Tri-Party Agreement, which provides a legal framework for environmental remediation at Hanford.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992, and some historians advocated converting it into a museum.
government report released in 1992 estimated that 685,000 curies (25.4 PBq) of radioactive iodine-131 had been released into the river and air from the Hanford site between 1944 and 1947. Beginning in the 1960s, scientists with the U.S.
Concentrations of radionuclides including tritium, technetium-99, and iodine-129 in riverbank springs near the Hanford Townsite have generally been increasing since 1994.
By 1998, about a third of these tanks had leaked waste into the soil and groundwater.
Some of this land has been returned to private use and is now covered with orchards, vineyards, and irrigated fields. In 2000, large portions of the site were turned over to the Hanford Reach National Monument.
In 2000, the Department of Energy awarded a $4.3 billion contract to
They paid more than $60 million in legal fees and $7 million in damages. Since 2003, radioactive materials are known to be leaking from Hanford into the environment: "The highest tritium concentration detected in riverbank springs during 2002 was 58,000 pCi/L (2,100 Bq/L) at the Hanford Townsite.
They paid more than $60 million in legal fees and $7 million in damages. Since 2003, radioactive materials are known to be leaking from Hanford into the environment: "The highest tritium concentration detected in riverbank springs during 2002 was 58,000 pCi/L (2,100 Bq/L) at the Hanford Townsite.
In 2005, two of six plaintiffs who went to trial were awarded $500,000 in damages. In October 2015, the Department of Energy resolved the final cases.
By 2005, some liquid waste was transferred from single shell tanks to (safer) double shell tanks.
Intermittent discoveries of undocumented contamination have slowed the pace and raised the cost of cleanup. In 2007, the Hanford site represented 60% of high-level radioactive waste by volume managed by the US Department of Energy and 7–9% of all nuclear waste in the United States (the DOE manages 15% of nuclear waste in the US, with the remaining 85% being commercial spent nuclear fuel).
B reactor was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Park Service on August 19, 2008. == Later operations == The United States Department of Energy assumed control of the Hanford Site in 1977.
Originally scheduled to be complete within thirty years, the cleanup was less than half finished by 2008.
Between 2009 and 2018, approximately 80,000 people visited the site, bringing an estimated annual tourist income of two million dollars to the surrounding area. === Tunnel collapse === On the morning of May 9, 2017, a section of a tunnel caved in.
Solids, known as salt cake and sludge, remained. DOE later found water intruding into at least 14 single-shell tanks and that one of them had been leaking about per year into the ground since about 2010.
In 2011, DOE, the federal agency charged with overseeing the site, "interim stabilized" 149 single-shell tanks by pumping nearly all of the liquid waste out into 28 newer double-shell tanks.
In 2012, DOE discovered a leak also from a double-shell tank caused by construction flaws and corrosion in the bottom, and that 12 double-shell tanks have similar construction flaws.
Other detected contaminants include arsenic, chromium, chloride, fluoride, nitrate, and sulfate." In February 2013, Governor Jay Inslee announced that a tank storing radioactive waste at the site had been leaking liquids on average of 150 to 300 gallons per year.
On February 22, 2013, the Governor stated that "6 more tanks at Hanford site" were "leaking radioactive waste" , there are 177 tanks at Hanford, 149 of which have a single shell.
In March 2014, the DOE announced further delays in the construction of the Waste Treatment Plant, which will affect the schedule for removing waste from the tanks.
More than 40 workers in 2014 alone reported smelling vapors and became ill with "nosebleeds, headaches, watery eyes, burning skin, contact dermatitis, increased heart rate, difficulty breathing, coughing, sore throats, expectorating, dizziness and nausea, ...
Monitors worn by tank workers have found no samples with chemicals close to the federal limit for occupational exposure. In August 2014, OSHA ordered the facility to rehire a contractor and pay $220,000 in back wages for firing the employee for whistleblowing on safety concerns at the site. On November 19, 2014, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said the state planned to sue the DOE and its contractor to protect workers from hazardous vapors at Hanford.
A 2014 report by the DOE Savannah River National Laboratory initiated by 'Washington River Protection Solutions' found that DOE's methods to study vapor releases were inadequate, particularly, that they did not account for short but intense vapor releases.
Citing the 2014 Hanford Lifecycle Scope Schedule and Cost report, the 2014 estimated cost of the remaining Hanford clean up is $113.6 billion – more than $3 billion per year for the next six years, with a lower cost projection of approximately $2 billion per year until 2046.
In 2005, two of six plaintiffs who went to trial were awarded $500,000 in damages. In October 2015, the Department of Energy resolved the final cases.
Between 2009 and 2018, approximately 80,000 people visited the site, bringing an estimated annual tourist income of two million dollars to the surrounding area. === Tunnel collapse === On the morning of May 9, 2017, a section of a tunnel caved in.
Between 2009 and 2018, approximately 80,000 people visited the site, bringing an estimated annual tourist income of two million dollars to the surrounding area. === Tunnel collapse === On the morning of May 9, 2017, a section of a tunnel caved in.
That waste was originally scheduled to be removed by 2018.
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