On the Home Front: The Cold War Legacy of the Hanford Nuclear Site

By Michele Stenehjem Gerber

Book Overview

The Hanford Site in southeastern Washington state was built by the Army Corps of Engineers and the DuPont Corporation during World War II to produce plutonium for America's first atomic weapons. The gigantic facility was immediately successful, producing and delivering in less than two years the plutonium for the world's initial atomic explosion and for the bomb dropped on Nagasaki that effectively ended World War II. The first complete history of Hanford was made possible by the declassification of tens of thousands of formerly secret government documents relating to the construction, operation, and maintenance of the site. It describes the releases (planned and accidental) of radioactive and chemical contaminants; their pathways through the environment; attempts to correct problems under conditions of rapid, nearly chaotic change; and the secrecy of government operations that made scientific review of Hanford processes virtually impossible.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803221452
• ISBN13: 9780803221451
• Release Date: January 1992
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 1.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.0" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

An Outstanding and Important History

Gerber's history of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is the culmination of years of research and based on thousands of declassified documents. It lays out the degredation of surface water, ground water, and air as plutonium production escalated in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, and the associated developments in environmental monitoring and research...though alas, not public information. The issue is secrecy, and by implication, the physical and psychic damage secrecy inflicts on a democracy. I admire more than anything Gerber's refusal to paint the actors in black and white. This is an important and beautifully written book. If only every American knew this story.

Informative, interesting, and a good digest...

Dr. Gerber reduced the thousands of documents, memos, and misc data declassified reguarding the Hanford Area and the surrounding region from the very beginning of the Manhattan Project. Having lived there for a majority of my life in what was once the "Richland Village" and going to a high school with a mascot of the Bombers, this book was particularly interesting to me. It also allowed me to carry intelligent conversation with my grandfather (who worked there from the 50's till the 80's). Highly technical in parts but with some explaination, I reccommend you read a bit about radioactivity and geology to assist your understanding of the content.