The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has designated the Hanford B Reactor as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
At their October, 1993, meeting in Houston Texas, the National Board of ASCE approved the nomination by the Columbia Section to recognize B Reactor for its historical significance in the civil engineering profession. The nomination had been reviewed and recommended by the ASCE National Committee on History and Heritage. Civil Engineers were responsible for construction management, design of structural features, shielding, water treatment, and other aspects of the Hanford reactors.
ASCE Landmark designation places B Reactor on the same list of historic structures as the Brooklyn Bridge, Hoover Dam, New York City Subway, etc. Only two other such Landmarks exist in the state of Washington; the Snoqualmie Falls Power Plant and the Mullan Road. The Historic Civil Engineering Landmark program was developed by ASCE as a means of bringing deserved public recognition to historic civil engineering projects, structures, and sites.
The Columbia Section plans to present a "Landmark" plaque (a very impressive 12" X 18" bronze piece) to the Department of Energy at a public ceremony on March 26, 1994. A public tour of the reactor will be held in conjunction with that ceremony.
It should be recalled that the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the American Nuclear Society have previously awarded similar recognition to the B Reactor; the world's first full-scale production reactor. B was entered in the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 1992 by the National Park Service.