A Tour of the World's Most Toxic Nuclear Site - Inside Hanford's B Reactor

[ensho]

http://counterpunch.com/


Sitting inside an old nuclear reactor, gazing up at a wall that holds over 2,000 cylinder rods that once produced plutonium for our nation’s atom bombs. That’s how I spent my Labor Day weekend.

Located just outside of Richland, in Eastern Washington State, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation spans 586 square miles on high desert plains. The mighty Columbia River marks the site’s eastern boundary where its waters once served as the depository for a few of the reactors’ contaminated effluent. Belly-high barbwire fencing, with phallic smoke stacks positioned next to its aging boxy structures, surrounds Hanford’s dry austere landscape. The aura of this rough terrain, taken from the Wanapum tribe only 66 years ago, is evocative to say the least.

At noon on this particular Saturday a group of us climbed onto a bus in Richland to tour Hanford’s notorious B Reactor, which was designated a National Historic Landmark in August of 2008. Constructed by DuPont in just 11 months back in the early 1940s, B was the first full-scale plutonium production plant in the world. This summer the Department of Energy, along with the help of the Fluor Corporation, provided regular public tours of the reactor, hoping that one day the facility will be turned into a national museum of sorts.

By all accounts the B Reactor is historic. For starters, it’s the most polluted nuclear site on the planet. “It was the perfect marriage of science and engineering,” one of our guides expressed almost tearfully. “The brave men that built this left us a history we should not ever forget.”

-snip telling of the death and destruction then and still going on now-
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I can't think of anything printable to say

[izquierdista]

1. "Left us a history"

Yes, :cry: and we should cherish it quickly before we're left with just 1/32nd of it in another 120,000 years!

[Generic Other]

2. I went on this tour...most frightening place I have ever been

The workers have high incidence of cancers, the safety issues ignored, the technology inadequate to cope with the problems, the devastation to the environment and the long-term effects on anyone living near the place should convince any Americans that there are safer, cleaner, cheaper technologies available to us!!

[billyclem]

3. Speaking as one "living near the place"

The B reactor is one nasty dirty place. The problem with B and the early wartime plants is that they were building blind without sufficient safeguards. So they used the best current 1940's construction methods, not good enough. B is not the only dirty area, new ones are being found quite often. This is due to the lack of records during the years of plutonium production. Production was king, all else was down the list.

I am retired now having spent my post military/university working life at Hhanford. Pay attention...I worked in a project that was not part of or in any way associated with the weapons programs..got it? Please don't dog pile me! There was/is more than weapons to Hanford. Now, back to dirty stuff. You would not believe the stuff that is found buried in the dessert. Cars, tractors, bulldozers etc. Easier to bury & forget in the 40's & 50's than decon.

As for the incidence of illness among workers and residents, I think there is some journalistic hype present. The studies that I have seen by objective sources NIH etc show no differences among modern populations. Wartime groups were excluded because of lack of records. My work did involve daily possible exposure to radioactive material. However, after 33 years my total dose was 1/20 of my total dose for 5 years work in the Navy involving nuclear power. Bit of a difference.

Please ignore any spelling errors. I am not a touch typist and am using only one eye. Life without depth perception is not fun. Just had emergency surgery for a completely detached retina. boooooooooooooooo

[Generic Other]

4. Do you live near enough to the reactors that you have an alarm in your house?

I am sorry. I could not live like that. An alarm in the basement giving you five minutes to evacuate. These are new houses within sight of the reactors! That is insane!! This whole area is frightening to me. I grew up in Moses Lake. My dad died of some rare form of leukemia. All the families I know in Eastern Washington have high incidences of cancers. Thyroid problems. Brain tumors. Downwinders all of them. I am petrified because I lived there for four years when I was a child. Wondering if I'll also get cancer. I am horrified to know that women of childbearing years can't even work there because it is deemed so dangerous. That suggests it is not some safe nice place to work. It's creepy. There are stormtroopers guarding the entrance to the reactors. The geiger counters never stop ticking! Like you said, the operation was lax, seemingly no concern at all for decades. Everywhere I went when I visited scared me. The local high school's symbol is an atomic mushroom cloud! You can't make stuff like that up! Businesses named Atomic Bowling Alley or Nuclear Towing. I am surprised I didn't find a Radiation Cafe! It was like visiting Deliverance. I suddenly knew why the banjo playing kid was like he was!

I am not going to criticize your career choices, in fact I guess I am grateful you spent time trying to contain that mess, but make no mistake about it--IT IS THE SCARIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!

Ironically, I was invited to tour the place in hopes I would promote nuclear energy and help alleviate my fellow citizens fears of the industry. My tour was led by former Speaker of the House Mike Mansfield. I think he was pissed at me for failing to take a way the positive good news about Hanford and nuclear energy's glowing future!!! Cause my lying eyes sure as hell didn't get that message.