A new history of Hanford tells us about the motives, contradictions, and influences that shaped the "nuclear reservation" that has changed lives and re-shaped the world.

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Obama keeps on dithering over disposal of Hanford's nuclear waste

Posted Tue, Sep 13, 2 a.m.

By Daniel Jack Chasan

The Obama administration wants to keep Harry Reid and his Nevada constituents happy. Besides, after 60-some years, what's the rush?

Radiation monitoring: is public really in the loop?

Posted Thu, Aug 25, 2 a.m.

By Eric Scigliano

When authorities sent a helicopter over Seattle and Washington state to monitor radiation, they made a point of telling us what they were doing. But how well is the public being informed either here or in post-Fukushima Japan?

Was Newton wrong about gravity?

Posted Tue, Aug 2, 11:30 a.m.

By John Stang

A trio of physicists have spent the last 17 years in an underground bunker at Hanford, testing Newton's theory of gravity. They believe his famous law may not be as absolute as our high school science teachers led us to believe.

Japan, chaos, and our plans for Yucca Mountain nuclear storage

Posted Mon, Mar 14, 11 a.m.

By Mark Trahant

Fukushima and Three Mile Island argue the limits of human planning. Some people think we could engineer a 10,000-year solution at Yucca Mountain, even though there is not a single human building older than about 6,500 years. Even though we know about chaos.

Oil-soaked oysters, contaminated salmon, 'radioactive' wine

Posted Tue, Sep 14, 2 a.m.

By Ronald Holden

We're living the effects of the BP oil spill and fearing a proposed open-pit mine near Bristol Bay. Should we worry about our own state's vineyards and orchards growing so close to Hanford's plutonium?

From Hiroshima's ruins to a life of service in Seattle

Posted Thu, Aug 5, 2 a.m.

By Joe Copeland

A resilient middle-schooler burned in the Hiroshima atomic bombing 65 years ago this week, Akira 'Ken' Nakano became an outspoken, sometimes provocative advocate for peace.

'White men! White men! Turn back!'

Posted Mon, Apr 5, 2 a.m.

By Knute Berger

Legally, Native Americans have a growing role in shaping the cultural preservation process. They have an unofficial role too: giving voice to our ambivalence about "progress."

As California greens, Northwest power gains

Posted Tue, Dec 15, 2 a.m.

By Daniel Jack Chasan

There's an energy "butterfly effect": Buy a TV in L.A. and the next thing you know we're developing more wind energy in the Columbia Gorge.

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Stimulating a little progress on Hanford cleanup

Posted Thu, Feb 5, 6 a.m.

By Daniel Jack Chasan

The federal stimulus package will add some money for taking out nuclear garbage. But the whole sorry story is still mired in lawsuits, delays, and broken promises.

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Lessons of atomic archaeology

Posted Thu, Jan 29, 6 a.m.

By Knute Berger

The digging up of "historic" nuclear waste at Hanford is an example of the complexities of a system that seeks to both uncover our past and keep the lid on a toxic legacy.

Changing and challenging winds in the power industry

Posted Mon, Mar 17, 5 a.m.

By Daniel Jack Chasan

It's an awkward time in the energy business. Coal is plentiful, but coal-gas generation is carbon-spewing, and the body politic won't tolerate that. Wind is promising but might not be enough. In the midst of this transition is Energy Northwest, the public-utility consortium whose customers are still paying for nuclear plants that were never built.

The 20-year war over Hanford clean-up

Posted Wed, Oct 31, 5 a.m.

By Daniel Jack Chasan

So much nuclear waste to dispose of and so many barriers – technical, political, and legal. Here's an update on where things stand at the federal reservation in Washington. The solutions – glassification of radioactive waste, fast-reactor processing of spent nuclear fuel, and shipment to permanent burial in Nevada – are all encountering hurdles to progress.

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Hanford Nuclear Reservation, U.S. Department of Energy. Bookmark this page (Cntrl+D in Windows and Linux, Cmd+D on a Mac) if you'd like to check this topic regularly.

Hanford Blog posts

Nuclear treaty debate lets GOP's right get its glow on

Posted Sun, Nov 21, 6 a.m. 2010

by Joe Copeland

At Hanford, we are still cleaning up from the frantic Cold War production of plutonium. But some Republican senators are reluctant to approve a treaty with Russia until we spend more on nuclear weapons.

'Kennewick Man,' 13 years later

Posted Mon, Jul 27, noon 2009

by Roger Downey

The sensational scientific claim devolved into more of a legal dispute over Native claims on pre-immigrant human remains.

The Nuke Building could get nuked

Posted Thu, Sep 11, 5 p.m. 2008

by Knute Berger

You may have read in late August that Hanford's B reactor was granted National landmark status by the U.S government. The B reactor was the world's first full-scale nuclear reactor and it helped drive the famed Manhattan Project. It produced the plutonium used for the first atomic test blast and for the bomb the U.S. dropped on Nagasaki, Japan. The deserved designation offers a hook to check on what's going on with the University of Washington's own historic Nuclear Reactor Building (More Hall Annex) in Seattle. It was slated for demolition this summer while it was also up for national register consideration. So, what happened?

Sausage Links, cougar-hunting edition

Posted Wed, Jul 16, 3:28 p.m. 2008

by Clark Fredricksen

Praise the Lord and release the hounds — because our good state Legislature has enacted a law which makes it legal once again to use dogs to hunt cougars. Now, I didn't even know cougar hunting was legal in Washington — minus Cougars wearing crimson — but apparently, it is. While the bill was actually passed by the Legislature in February, the Department of Fish and Wildlife will hold a public meeting on Friday to discuss whether the pilot program should continue for another three years.

Meanwhile, Micheal Reitz of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation has compiled a list of some other curious laws enacted by the Washington Legislature this year. My personal favorite: Violators may face up to $1,000 or up to a year in jail for selling raw or unprocessed huckleberries without a permit.

Sausage Links, potty-humor edition

Posted Tue, Jul 1, 2:59 p.m. 2008

by Clark Fredricksen

Democratic congressional candidate Darcy Burner's home was "severely damaged" by a fire this morning. Horse's Ass has the coverage, while NorthWest Cable News has the video. ...

Sausage Links, hammer-time edition

Posted Mon, Jun 30, 1 p.m. 2008

by Clark Fredricksen

Tri-City Herald reporter Chris Mulick digs deep into Washington state's bungled attempt to land a $2 billion uranium enrichment plant, along with its 400 high-paying jobs. According to Mulick, Gov. Chris Gregoire chose not to pursue bidding for the plant, deciding instead to play it cool politically. As a result, Idaho got the plant. Washington lost the money. And Dino Rossi just got more ammo for his campaign. Still, Gregoire's got a sizable lead in the polls, at the moment. ...

How the West was nuked

Posted Fri, May 2, 3:56 p.m. 2008

by Knute Berger

One of the best trends in historic commemoration is a greater willingness to honestly embrace history some would like to forget. In the bill containing Washington's new Wild Sky Wilderness that just passed Congress, there is funding for a National Park Service memorial on Bainbridge Island commemorating the shameful internment of Japanese civilians during World War II. The internment proposal was pushed hard by Rep. Jay Inslee and Sen. Maria Cantwell. Coming to terms with our nuclear past is another problematic area, but one that is also getting a more attention in the West.

How about a nuclear museum on the UW campus?

Posted Sun, Apr 27, 5 a.m. 2008

by Knute Berger

I got a very interesting e-mail from Dr. Steven Gilbert, Phd., Vice President of Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility (WPSR). He'd read my recent piece about the possible tear-down of More Hall Annex (the old Nuclear Reactor Building) on the University of Washington campus, and he has a great idea for the facility: Turn it into a nuclear museum. In fact, WPSR is already at work on the museum project, and it might be the perfect tenant if the UW will reconsider its destruction of this fascinating, historic modern structure.