Hanford-N
Richland, Wash., United States
Light-Water-Cooled, Graphite-Moderated Reactor (LGR)
Net Output: 860 MWe
Permanently shutdown. Date started: 07/1966. Date closed : 02/1988.

HANFORD

The U.S. Government established the Hanford Engineering Works in 1943 to support the nation's war-time effort to produce plutonium for the world's first nuclear weapons. In 30 months, the Manhattan Project built three reactors, three chemical processing plants to recover plutonium from irradiated fuel, and 64 underground storage tanks. It also built a production reactor fuel fabrication facility and other support facilities.

During the 1940s and 1950s, eight reactors were built in the 100 Area. The spent fuel discharged from the reactors was chemically processed to recover uranium and plutonium. N Reactor, which became operational in 1963, was used for both plutonium production and steam generation. In addition to the production reactors, there were two test reactors. The Plutonium Research Test Reactor is located in the 300 Area, and the much larger Fast Flux Test Facility reactor is in the 400 Area. These test reactors were used in fuel materials, isotope production, and power research.

Beginning in 1964, the Department sharply curtailed plutonium production in response to the nation's changing defense needs. By 1971, eight of the nine production reactors had been shut down and by 1972, all related fuel separation facilities, including the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction Plant, had ceased operations. In the early 1980s, the Department briefly restarted the Plutonium-Uranium Extraction Plant and the Uranium Oxide Plant; however, these plants are now permanently shut down.

As a result of the reduction of plutonium production activities, the resources and capabilities of the Hanford Site were refocused toward developing nonmilitary applications of nuclear energy. In the 1970s, the Energy Research and Development Administration, a predecessor to the Department of Energy, emphasized energy research programs, including solar, geothermal, and advanced systems; fossil energy; national security; conservation; energy policy analysis; and resource assessment. During this period, the full-size advanced test reactor, and the Fast Flux Test Facility were used for large-scale nuclear fuels testing in support of nuclear energy research.

In 1989, the defense-related plutonium production mission at Hanford was replaced by the environmental management mission. By that time, production practices had resulted in the discharge of contaminated liquids into the soil, ground water, and Columbia River; the disposal of solid waste throughout the area; and the accumulation of two-thirds of the nation's stored weapons-related radioactive waste.

Also in 1989, the Hanford Site was placed on the National Priorities List under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as Superfund). Since that time, the Department has been committed to remediation and waste management to decrease potential risks to the site's work force, the public, and the environment.

The current and future mission of the Hanford Site is to manage the facilities and inventories of special materials, remedy the environmental contamination caused by decades of activities related to the production of plutonium, and support national research efforts in the areas of environmental and other sciences. The site has been under the direction of Office of Environmental Management since 1989, and its efforts are now specifically focused on minimizing, processing, and storing the backlog radioactive and hazardous waste generated from 1943 through 1993; managing spent nuclear fuels and special nuclear material; decontaminating and decommissioning facilities no longer required; and developing technologies to clean up Hanford and other environmentally contaminated sites. Efforts also include remediating the site, to the extent practical, to its former state, and managing the site as a national resource. The natural and cultural resources of the site will be managed in a manner consistent with Tribal rights. All existing facilities will be sold for salvage, decommissioned, or converted for commercial use.