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Hanford Superfund Site History
Hanford Superfund Site Homepage
In 1988, Hanford was divided into four National Priorities List (NPL) sites including the 100, 200, 300, and 1100 Areas. The NPL is the list of sites that pose a significant risk to human health and the environment if contaminants and exposure to them are not addressed.
Long before construction of the Hanford Site, the area had been inhabited by various Native American tribes, including the Yakama, Nez Perce, Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Walla. However, in 1855 many of these tribes signed treaties with the United States government and a reservation system was devised. The tribes reserved the right to continue many practices on the ceded lands, such as to fish from any stream within or adjacent to the territory, to hunt, to graze their horses and cattle on open and unclaimed land, and to practice religious traditions at locations they consider sacred. Because this is the only stretch of the Columbia River that is still free-flowing and one of the few areas in the Mid-Columbia Valley without major agricultural development, it is one of the few places where former Native villages and campsites can still be found.
Parts of the area had also been settled by non-Native Americans prior to World War II and, between 1905 and 1910, the towns of Hanford and White Bluffs were founded. From then until 1943 the region remained a small network of farms, orchards, ranches, and towns based on supply and grain shipment.
In 1940 and 1941, atomic research in the U.S. was being carried out by the federal Office of Scientific Research and Development. Soon after, in December 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and the U.S. officially entered World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the construction of industrial plants to produce uranium-235 and plutonium-239 to be used for creating nuclear weapons.
In January 1943, Hanford was chosen by the Federal government as the site for the world’s first full-scale plutonium production plants. It was considered an ideal place because of the remote location, the access to railroad systems, the proximity to the Columbia River needed for cooling the reactors, and the abundance of hydroelectric power generated from dams along the river. More than 1,500 residents were evacuated in early 1943 to make way for construction and thousands of construction workers moved from across the country to the area. By 1945, 554 buildings were constructed, including the B, D, and F Reactors; T, B, and U processing canyons; 64 underground high-level waste storage tanks; and many facilities dedicated to fuel fabrication in the 300 Area. The Hanford Project also constructed 621 kilometers (386 miles) of roadway, 254 kilometers (158 miles) of railroad, 80.5 kilometers (50 miles) of electrical transmission lines, and the city of Richland that was capable of housing 17,500 people. Progress at the Hanford Site occurred quickly and secretly and, as a security measure, local and state officials were not even informed about the purposes of the Site.
A camp for workers set up on the site eventually swelled to a population of 50,000. The camp included many trailers, mess halls, and other standard facilities as well as dance halls, ball fields, and other entertainment venues.
After World War II, defense production slowed, resulting in decreased power levels at the reactors. From September 1945 to December 1946, the number of contractor personnel at Hanford fell from 10,000 to 5,000. At the same time, many government officials and members of the public began to worry about the state of the country’s defense policy. Arguing that there would not be time for defense preparation if an atomic war were to start, President Truman agreed that the country’s weapons supply was “not adequate.” With national consensus rising for increased weapons production, an expansion of Hanford was ordered. The expansion included the construction of H and DR reactors, Z Plant (the Plutonium Finishing Plant), and 42 additional high-level waste storage tanks.
In September 1949, the Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb and Hanford, having just experienced huge growth, was again set for expansion. The reduction oxidation (REDOX) processing plant, the only continuous solvent extraction plant in the world, was built, along with other facilities including C Reactor, a large Experimental Animal Farm and Aquatic Biology Laboratory in 100-F Area, and 18 more single-shell storage tanks for high-level waste.
The election of President Eisenhower initiated yet another expansion for Hanford. The new President believed that defense spending could be reduced by concentrating resources on atomic weapons instead of conventional forces. The KE and KW Reactors, the Plutonium-Uranium (PUREX) Plant, and 21 more single-shell waste tanks were created during this period of growth.
With the Cold War already begun, defense production at the Hanford Site peaked during the period of 1956-1963. New facilities built at the Site during this time were few. The most outstanding new facility was the dual-purpose N Reactor, unique in that it combined plutonium production with the steam generation of commercial electric power.
In the mid 1960s, with a shift in the national defense plan, the need for plutonium diminished, and Hanford entered a period of decline. All eight of the single-purpose plutonium production reactors were closed between 1964 and 1971; only the N Reactor remained in operation. As part of a national program researching the use of nuclear power as a source of alternative energy, in 1967 the Hanford Site was chosen as the location for the Fast Flux Test Facility advanced reactor. By 1975, energy research had become a major mission of Hanford, and solar, geothermal, fossil, wind, and organic energy sources were also studied.
In the early 1980s, the mission of the Hanford Site shifted back to defense production. Site facilities were upgraded and used to produce material as part of President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative, also known as Star Wars.
Beginning in 1989, the primary mission at the Hanford Site switched from production to waste cleanup. In May of that year, the USDOE, EPA, and Ecology signed the Tri-Party Agreement and, since then, no plutonium has been produced for defense purposes at the Site.
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Point of contact: Dennis Faulk
E-Mail: faulk.dennis@epa.gov
Phone Number: (509)376-8631
Last Updated: 04/09/2008
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