Both the DOE and U.S. Rep Doc Hastings have told the National Park Service (NPS) that Hanford’s B Reactor should be included in any plans to create a Manhattan Project National Historic Park. (Seems to us like you can’t really have a Manhattan Project historic park and not include Hanford, can you?)

The NPS is concerned about safety at the B Reactor, about the proximity of employees and visitors to radioactive material.

Last week, the DOE proposed a partnership with the park service that would see the DOE responsible for maintaining facilities associated with a Manhattan Project National Historic Park — inclusing a museum at B Reactor. The DOE’s letter said:

In summary, the facilities from the three original DOE properties should be included in any future designated Manhattan Project National Historical Park in order to give visitors the full appreciation for what tens of thousands of patriotic men and women accomplished on behalf of the United States.

For now, the park service is only considering Los Alamos, New Mexico, for a Manhattan Project park — ignoring Hanford and Tennessee, which also had important roles in the Manhattan Project.

Rep. Doc Hastings joined the chorus Tuesday during a hearing in Washington, DC. He told NPS Director Jon Jarvis that the park services concerns are “not insurmountable.”

You may recall that the B Reactor was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2008.

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