By the Herald editorial staff
The Cold War was a long, tedious and scary time for the world at large and, particularly, inside the fence at Hanford.
Today marks a special time of remembrance for nuclear workers of the Cold War era.
There'll be a ceremony from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Richland Community Center, 500 Amon Park Drive.
Take it in.
Department of Energy Richland Manager Dave Brockman and state Rep. Larry Haler, R-Richland, will speak.
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution in May designating a national day of remembrance for Cold War nuclear workers.
The Cold War Patriots, a nonprofit group, plans to create time capsules with material from Hanford and other weapons sites.
A good place to spend a part of this special day is online at www.coldwarhanford.com. In addition to digital versions of the articles in today's special section, the website includes more than 700 historic photos from Hanford's Cold War era.
Or schedule a visit to the CREHST (Columbia River Exhibition of History, Science and Technology) Museum in Richland. There you will encounter artifacts from the workaday lives of early Hanford workers and the difficult conditions under which they lived.
There's even one of the original trailers sitting outside the museum. It will no doubt strike you as pretty small, pretty primitive and, since it was not air-conditioned, a pretty hot way to spend a summer in the desert.
The early days of Hanford as a government site were rough and tumble and filled with tension. The most careful judgment was needed and exhibited in loading the B Reactor, now designated a National Historic Landmark, recognizing the role it played in shaping 50 years of U.S. and world history.
There are many heroes of the Cold War, from presidents who stood up to the Soviet menace to those in the service who were at greatest risk.
It's appropriate to have a special day for those who toiled in nuclear plants around the country.
Hanford played a noble part in ending one war and preventing another.
Thus today is long overdue.
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Cold War nuclear workers to be honored Friday
Cold War nuclear workers to be honored Friday
The Tri-Cities will celebrate a National Day of Remembrance on Friday for Cold War nuclear weapons workers at Hanford and other Department of Energy sites.
Cold War Patriots, a nonprofit organization, has organized a celebration from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Richland Community Center, 500 Amon Park Drive, Richland.
The event will launch a new project to add to quilts honoring Cold War nuclear and uranium workers. Supplies will be on hand to allow participants to sign fabric quilt squares with markers to honor workers.
Compensating ill nuclear workers topic of meetings
Compensating ill nuclear workers topic of meetings
Meetings related to a program to compensate ill nuclear workers are planned Tuesday through Thursday in Richland.
The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health will be discussing matters related to the compensation of workers who developed cancer after exposure to radiation.
Meetings start each day at 8:15 a.m. at the Courtyard by Marriott, 480 Columbia Point. Thursday's meeting will last only a half day.
Community copes with 2,000 Hanford layoffs
Community copes with 2,000 Hanford layoffs
Editor's note: Hanford started this year with 12,000 workers and nine months later about 2,000 positions have been cut. Herald reporters and photographers take a closer look at what this means to Tri-Citians and our economy with a daily series of stories that begins today.
The day after the last of almost 2,000 workers were told they were losing their jobs at Hanford, Twigs Bistro and Martini Bar opened at the Columbia Center mall in Kennewick.
Business has been excellent, said general manager Will Willingham. Customers have been filling its 267 seats, with waits of up to 30 minutes on some nights.
Hanford critical mass lab demolished (w/ video)
Hanford critical mass lab demolished (w/ video)
RICHLAND — One of the most contaminated buildings at Hanford, the 209 East Critical Mass Laboratory, has been demolished.
The 8,979-square-foot building was used for more than two decades for research on plutonium and uranium solutions to identify controls for uncontrolled nuclear reactions called criticalities.
After research stopped in the central Hanford lab in 1983, most of the radioactive materials were removed and the tanks and pipelines were flushed. But work to clean out the building to prepare for demolition still took almost two years of work by CH2M Hill Plateau Remediation Co.
Hanford layoffs timeline
Hanford layoffs timeline
Here is a timeline showing the Tri-Cities' roller coaster layoff history:
1943: Hanford, White Bluffs and Richland are transformed from rural villages with a combined population of about 1,200 into a construction camp of 51,000 workers.
1946: Employment drops to a low of about 5,000 as construction slows after World War II.
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