Faculty Mentor
Dr. Richard Orndorff
Document Type
Poster
Department
Geosciences
Abstract
At the height of World War II, the United States government created the Manhattan Project in a race against Germany to develop the first atomic bomb. In search of remote areas to produce the necessary plutonium, the US government established a nuclear facility at Hanford, WA, which met all the criteria needed to develop and power the site. The Columbia River was vital to powering the plant and providing much-needed cooling water for the Manhattan B Reactor. The site created plutonium for the second bomb dropped on Japan, then it continued plutonium production into the Cold War. By the 1980s, production of plutonium was halted, and in 1989, the Tri-Party Agreement was signed to mitigate nuclear waste and protect the Columbia River to comply with federal regulations. Over 30 years later, cleanup has led to growth and development of the Tri-Cities (including Pacific Northwest National Labs), creating thousands of jobs in the region. And cleanup will continue for many more decades to come.
Recommended Citation
Woodworth, Kylee M., "History and Development of Hanford Reservation, Washington" (2023). 2023 Symposium. 1.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2023/works_2023/works_2023/1
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
History and Development of Hanford Reservation, Washington
At the height of World War II, the United States government created the Manhattan Project in a race against Germany to develop the first atomic bomb. In search of remote areas to produce the necessary plutonium, the US government established a nuclear facility at Hanford, WA, which met all the criteria needed to develop and power the site. The Columbia River was vital to powering the plant and providing much-needed cooling water for the Manhattan B Reactor. The site created plutonium for the second bomb dropped on Japan, then it continued plutonium production into the Cold War. By the 1980s, production of plutonium was halted, and in 1989, the Tri-Party Agreement was signed to mitigate nuclear waste and protect the Columbia River to comply with federal regulations. Over 30 years later, cleanup has led to growth and development of the Tri-Cities (including Pacific Northwest National Labs), creating thousands of jobs in the region. And cleanup will continue for many more decades to come.
