Taking the Nuclear Tour

A control panel for the B Reactor at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Richland. The reactor was the first fully functioning nuclear plant in the U.S. and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2008.

This summer, the hottest ticket in the Northwest just might be tours of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. In recent years, the federal government has been guiding increasing numbers of guests through the vast, highly secure site in southeast Washington. Tickets to the events sell out hours after they are released. In the first minute of registration this year, 500 of the 4,000 places were reserved.

Especially popular are tours of the nuclear site’s historic B Reactor. Some people have been trying for tickets for years. The hulking, boxy structure was built in secret during World War II and operated during much of the Cold War. It was the nation’s first full-scale nuclear reactor and made the plutonium for bombs for the Manhattan Project and later during the Cold War. Now, the B Reactor, permanently shut down in 1968 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2008, is like a museum.

Gary Petersen, the vice president of the Tri-Cities Development Council, says it isn’t odd that people are coming from all across the country to see one of the most highly contaminated places in the United States.

“Out-of-town people are blown away when they come out and see how large the site is,” Petersen observes. “They see everything from the effects of the Ice Age floods to the ancient basalt flows to Hanford’s legacy and what cleanup is. It’s a broad education and a scientific visit.”

Petersen is among the many who believe the B Reactor site should become a national park. Washington state lawmakers are also pushing the proposal, although the National Park Service says that plan would be too costly and difficult.

Still, even without national park status, word is getting out. Just six years ago, only about 150 tickets to Hanford were divvied out to the public. Now, thousands can visit the site each year. Some businesses have started catering to these growing numbers of nuclear tourists, who can chow down on an Atomic Red pizza or sip a Half-Life Hefeweizen at Atomic Ale Brewpub. It’s a favorite after-hours hangout for many Hanford workers. You can buy atomic-themed Tupperware as a souvenir at the curiosity shop in Richland called Octopus’ Garden. And there are even kayak tours that depart north of the nuclear site on the Columbia River and float by World War II and Cold War era

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