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Hanford
Summary
In 1943, the federal government chose Hanford, in Washington state, to make plutonium for the Manhattan Project, a secret wartime effort to build an atomic bomb. That military mission ended in 1988, launching a cleanup effort that continues to this day. In 1994, S-R reporters Karen Dorn Steele and Jim Lynch wrote a five-day series called Wasteland detailing the money spent on Hanford’s cleanup.
In an agreement reached in the early days of the Manhattan Project, the U.S. government agreed to indemnify the nuclear contractors making plutonium at Hanford, including corporate giants General Electric and E.I. DuPont de Nemours.
That means U.S. taxpayers have also been paying the legal bills for the Hanford contractors’ defense in lawsuits by “downwinders” who say they were sickened by pollution from the facility – over $60 million so far – as well as any settlements to individual plaintiffs and favorable verdicts in the Hanford case.
Key places
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B Reactor
The B Reactor was the world’s first full-scale nuclear reactor and produced the plutonium used in the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki in 1945. This World War II-era file photograph taken by the federal government shows the B reactor during its early plutonium production days. It was shut down in 1968 and in 2008 it was designated a National Historic Landmark.
More information
Latest updates in this topic
Highly radioactive spill near Columbia River in E. Washington worse than expected
The spill of highly radioactive waste beneath a building on the Hanford nuclear reservation north of Richland and near the Columbia River is both deeper and broader than anticipated.
Key insights, remaining questions after Sunday’s U.S. Senate debate between Smiley and Murray
Between questions on inflation, climate change, the Snake River Dams and Hanford, the candidates hoping to represent Washington in the U.S. Senate next year gave some answers while dodging a …
U.S. Supreme Court strikes down WA state law helping ill Hanford workers
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a 2018 Washington state law that made it easier for ill Hanford nuclear reservation workers to collect state workers’ compensation.
Hanford contractor admits coronavirus aid fraud, will pay $2.9 million in restitution
HPM Corporation, which has held the occupational medicine services contract at the former nuclear weapons production plant in Benton County for a decade, applied for and received a $1.3 million …
Hanford orders new COVID-19 requirements for 11,000 workers
Associated Press
Hanford contractors to pay $58 million to settle claims of overbilling federal government
Federal prosecutors from Spokane announced Tuesday they have reached a $58 million settlement with two major contractors who acknowledged they improperly billed the government for thousands of hours not worked …
Nagasaki bomb was the opening act of Hanford’s nuclear mission – and its toxic legacy
The “Fat Man” bomb fueled by Hanford plutonium that leveled Nagasaki and ended World War II was only the opening salvo in Hanford’s lengthy and controversial nuclear mission.
Weekend wildfires burn at Hanford site
Lightning storms during last weekend sparked several wildfires on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation including one that spread across 9,000 acres.
Feds start search for contractor to operate $17 billion Hanford waste plant
The Department of Energy has taken the first step toward finding a contractor to operate the $17 billion Hanford vitrification plant.
Thousands of Hanford workers told to stay home for 4th week because of coronavirus
Hanford nuclear reservation workers were told Thursday that most of them should stay home for a fourth week because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Most Hanford workers to stay home over coronavirus concerns. No word on for how long
Thousands of Hanford workers will stay home Monday after the Department of Energy announced the site was going into a temporary planning status to ensure the safety of employees during …
3 structures at high risk of collapsing at Hanford site
Three radioactively contaminated structures are at high risk of collapsing on a former nuclear weapons production site, but could be stabilized by filling them with a concrete-like grout within the …
Critics decry proposed cuts in Hanford nuclear cleanup plan
Advocates for cleaning up a former nuclear weapons production site in Washington state are outraged that the Trump administration is proposing a $700 million budget cut next year.
Feds fight $1 million Hanford fine. It increases $30,000 every week the fight continues
A fine of more than $1 million issued by the state of Washington to the Department of Energy is excessive and unlawful, DOE said in an appeal of the penalty …
Hiring at Hanford lab targets dangerous radioactive waste
The initial staff has arrived at the Analytical Laboratory, the first of the four major facilities at the Hanford $17 billion vitrification plant to have a Washington state permit to …
Hanford boosts contaminated groundwater cleanup to protect the Columbia River
The Hanford nuclear reservation is expanding its capacity to clean chemical and radioactive contamination from the groundwater. “That will reduce the time needed to clean up the groundwater,” said Mike …
Energy Secretary nominee ranks Hanford cleanup as his ‘top priority’
The next energy secretary could be making frequent trips to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
High-risk demolition of former plutonium plant could resume
High-risk demolition of a former nuclear weapons production plant could resume next week, nearly two years after the most dangerous work was halted because of safety concerns.
Hanford nuclear site study considers waste options
A federal government study has analyzed options for treating waste at a decommissioned nuclear site in Washington state. The Tri-City Herald reported that the National Academies of Sciences issued the …
After years of preparation, work to empty Hanford leak-prone waste tanks is ready to restart
Hanford workers are expected to begin pumping radioactive waste from a leak-prone underground tank at Hanford for the first time in nearly two years.
As crews begin to contain Hanford-area wildfire, smoke’s path uncertain
Smoke from the nearly 42,000-acre Cold Creek wildfire near the Tri-Cities is not expected to reach Spokane this weekend.
Wildfire burns near Hanford, remains uncontained
The fire was reported at approximately 2 p.m. on Thursday and drew response from the Department of Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife, and Benton County crews.
New report warns of potential radiation release at Hanford
A new report warns that a huge facility on the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington state is at risk of releasing radioactive contamination into the environment the longer it remains …
Hanford could be resting place for vessel’s nuclear reactors
The Navy is taking a second look at whether to send nuclear reactor compartments from the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to Hanford for disposal.
Judge rejects federal challenge to Hanford workers comp law
A federal judge on Thursday rejected the Trump administration’s challenge to a Washington state law that makes it easier for former workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation to win workers …
State frustrated as feds halt work on Hanford radioactive waste test
The Department of Energy has withdrawn its application for a state permit for the next phase of a pilot project it says could treat some of Hanford’s radioactive waste sooner …
State accused of stalling on permit that could speed Hanford radioactive waste treatment
The Washington state Department of Ecology was accused at a public meeting of dragging its feet and preventing a test in Richland of a new way to treat Hanford radioactive …
Shields dives through nuclear bomb history of ‘loose lips sink ships’ at Northwest Passages Book Club
Before her first novel was published, Spokane author Sharma Shields was already looking to start writing another book.
Report: Feds need better financial oversight at Hanford site
A report by the federal government says the Department of Energy needs better financial oversight at sites like the Hanford decommissioned nuclear production complex in Richland.
Lawmakers, feds at odds over law for sick Hanford workers
Even as the federal government sues to stop a new Washington state law that helps Hanford workers, some state lawmakers are working to change the new law to allow even …
US sues Lockheed Martin for fraud at Hanford
The U.S. Justice Department is accusing Lockheed Martin Corp. of using false records and making false statements to bill the Energy Department for tens of millions of dollars in unauthorized …
Feds sue Hanford contractor, claiming kickbacks and lies defrauded taxpayers out of millions
The Department of Justice filed a civil lawsuit Friday against Hanford contractor Mission Support Alliance, accusing it of defrauding the federal government out of tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.