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Hanford's historic B Reactor, circa 1944 |
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Hanford's historic B Reactor, circa 1944 |
An opportunity to preserve and present United States
history
House bill 3207 and Senate bill 1687
March 2004
Hanford's B Reactor is a unique artifact of the beginning of the nuclear age. It is not only a well-preserved example of the first generation of nuclear reactors, it is actually the first production-scale nuclear reactor every made. Completed in 1944, it produced plutonium for the world's first atomic bomb, the Trinity test on July 16, 1945, and for the bomb that destroyed Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The reactor's place in U.S. history is indisputable, as is its key role in world history. In short, when humanity first learned how to tap the energy of the atomic nucleus -- a milestone in human evolution -- it was first put to use at B Reactor. And that first step still stands as a solitary structure in the desert of southeastern Washington state. It's future, however, is still to be determined.
Currently (March 2004) there are two bills in Congress (H.R. 3207 and S. 1687) that would direct (and hopefully fund) the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct a study on the preservation of historic sites of the Manhattan Project for potential inclusion in the National Park system. On the Hanford site, B Reactor would be the prime candidate, and the 221-T "canyon" building would certainly be looked at, as well, although it’s still in use, while B Reactor lies waiting for its doors to be opened to the public.
The bills are named “The Manhattan Project National Historical Park Study Act of 2003.” Both bills are essentially the same, with the House bill being sponsored by our local Congressman Doc Hastings, and the Senate bill by Senator Jeff Bingaman (NM) and, as cosponsors, our own Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray. You can read the details of each bill by going to Thomas Legislative Information on the Internet at http://thomas.loc.gov/ and searching by bill number, hr3207 and s1687.
You can read the BRMA's recent letter to members of Congress, in which we encourage the passage of the House and Senate bills. Before we can learn from history, we must preserve it.