First-ever Hanford T-Plant public tours offered in October

RICHLAND, Wash. – The first public tours of Hanford’s T Plant and a month-long series of weekend events in October will commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the Manhattan Project and the rich history of the communities that became the Tri-Cities.
 
Coordinated by the Hanford History Partnership, the 70th anniversary events include lectures, exhibitions and bus tours to Hanford’s B Reactor and T-Plant.
 
T-Plant is one of Hanford’s massive reprocessing facilities used to chemically extract the plutonium for use in the Trinity test — the world’s first atomic bomb — and in the Fat Man bomb dropped over Nagasaki, Japan, to help end World War II. T-Plant is the oldest remaining operational nuclear facility in the nation with a new mission to help the environmental cleanup efforts under way at Hanford.
 
To participate in the tours, purchase a “Plutonium Passport.” The $70 passport includes bus transportation to the restricted areas of the Hanford site B Reactor and T-Plant tours; admission to 70th Anniversary lectures, exhibitions and receptions; admission to CREHST Museum and other select opportunities. Tour participants must be U.S. citizens and be at least 12 years old.
 
For more details and to purchase tickets, visit ourhanfordhistory.org/70 or phone 509-372-7125.
 
Plutonium Passport events include:
• B Reactor and T Plant tours — bus transportation to these restricted access areas of the Hanford site, choose from the weekends of Oct. 5-6, Oct. 12-13, Oct. 19-20, or Oct. 26-27.
• Opening reception and lecture, “Fish, pigs, dogs & plutonium: Hanford biologists and the atomic bomb: by Bill Bair, at 3 p.m. Oct. 6 in Richland.
• Lecture: “Atomic Frontier Days” by Bruce Hevly, at 7 p.m. Oct. 19 in Richland.
• Lecture: “The Making of the Atomic Bomb” by Richard Rhodes, at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 in Richland.
 
Free exhibits that are part of the Manhattan Project anniversary are:
• “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” illustrations by Tom McClellan, Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive, throughout October, open during regular library hours (closed Sundays).
• “Homespun History: Quilts and Textiles from White Bluffs, Hanford, and the Manhattan Project,” 1:30 to 5:30 p.m. Oct. 20, White Bluffs Quilt Museum, 294 Torbett St., Richland.

 

The Manhattan Project was the military code name for the fast-paced, round-the-clock effort to create an atomic weapon that led to the end of World War II. The enormous scale project involved three primary sites, Hanford in Washington, Los Alamos in New Mexico, and Oak Ridge in Tennessee. Today, these sites are managed by the U.S. Department of Energy and have been selected by the National Park Service as historic sites vital to the Manhattan Project mission. These sites would comprise the proposed Manhattan Project National Historic Park.

The 70th Anniversary of the Manhattan Project is coordinated by the Hanford History Partnership, a community collaborative led by Washington State University Tri-Cities. The collective mission is to capture, preserve and showcase the evolving Hanford story, so a lasting legacy of Hanford’s contributions may be carried forward for the educational benefit of future generations.
 
With WSU Tri-Cities as the lead partner and fiscal agent, other members include: African American Community Cultural & Educational Society (AACES); Max E. Benitz Library at WSU Tri-Cities; B-Reactor Museum Association; Columbia River Exhibition of Science & Technology (CREHST); East Benton County Historical Society; Herbert M. Parker Foundation; Northwest Public Television/WSU; REACH Interpretive Museum; Richland Public Library; TRIDEC; White Bluffs Quilt Museum and the U.S. Department of Energy.
 
To learn more about the Hanford Site visit: http://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/HanfordOverviewandHistory.
 
For photos or to learn more about the historic Hanford T-Plant, visit http://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/TPlant.