Laboratory Information:
DOE-Hanford Site
Fluor Hanford, Inc.
P.O. Box 1000 (B3-15)
Richland, WA 99352
Website: http://www.hanford.gov/
Agency/Department: Dept. of Energy
Region: Far West
Background/History of the Laboratory:
Hanford's history can be viewed in terms
of three overlapping cultural landscapes. The first represents the
American Indians, who have created a rich archeological and ethnographic record spanning more than 10,000
years. As the only stretch of the Columbia River that is still free-flowing, and one of the few areas
in the Mid-
Columbia Valley without modern agricultural development, the area is one of the few places where villages
and
campsites can still be found. Still today, local American Indian tribes revere the area for its spiritual
and cultural
importance, as they continue the traditions practiced by their ancestors.
The second landscape embodies the experiences of the immigrants
who started arriving in the mid-19th
century. Following the explorers and fur traders who passed through the area were miners, ranchers and
then
farmers. In 1943, the U.S. Government acquired the land for a secret wartime project and approximately
1500
families were forced to move. Today, the former residents and their families recall the homes they had
to leave
and see the remains of their farms and towns as symbols of the sacrifice they made to the war effort.
The third landscape is associated with World War II and the
subsequent Cold War. The government acquired
the land in 1943 to build large industrial facilities to produce plutonium, which served a vital role
in the nation's
defense. Hanford's mission expanded during the Cold War era to include research and development activities
associated with the peaceful uses of atomic energy. Today the remains of the facilities and legacy wastes
document an important part of the nuclear age story.
Mission of the Laboratory:
The primary mission of the Hanford site
is environmental restoration and management of the radioactive and
hazardous wastes generated there during nearly 50 years of defense production. The broad scope of work
also
includes management of the East Flux Test Facility and other engineering development and chemical
processing facilities; reactor decommissioning; site security; other support services; and management
of the
radioactive waste materials stored in 177 underground tanks, which account for a large portion of the
overall
Hanford cleanup effort.
