What was the big secret at Hanford?

In February 1945, army officers aboard passenger trains discreetly relayed a stainless steel flask holding 3.5 ounces of semi-liquid plutonium to bomb designers at Los Alamos. By June, Hanford had shipped the bombsmiths enough plutonium to build two 13.6-pound softball-sized cores.

Is the Hanford site still active?

Today the Hanford site encompasses 586 square miles. Over time, the plutonium production complex grew to nine reactors, all now closed. Hanford is the site of the only operating nuclear power plant in the Northwest, the Columbia Generating Station operated by Energy Northwest.

Is it safe to live near Hanford Nuclear Site?

Workers at the Hanford Nuclear Site in Washington say its chemical and radioactive vapors are making them sick, even killing them.

Is it safe to live near Hanford nuclear site?

Is it safe to live near Hanford Site?

Just this year, 61 workers have been exposed, and some nuclear experts have called Hanford “the most toxic place in America” and “an underground Chernobyl waiting to happen.” The DOE has acknowledged in nearly 20 studies conducted over the past 24 years that there is a safety risk to workers at Hanford.

How did Hisashi Ouchi get exposed to radiation?

(JCO) told Ouchi and two other workers to mix a new batch of fuel. But the three men were untrained in the process and mixed their materials by hand. Then, they accidentally poured seven times the amount of uranium into an improper tank. Ouchi was standing directly over the vessel as Gamma rays flooded the room.

How was Hisashi Ouchi exposed to radiation?

Hisashi Ouchi was helping a colleague pour litres of uranium into a huge metal vat at the Tokaimura Nuclear Power Plant in 1999. However, due to a miscalculation, the liquid reached ‘critical point’ and released dangerous neutron radiation and gamma rays into the atmosphere.