One GIANT Step Backward

The world's first full-scale nuclear reactor, built in 13 months to produce plutonium for an atomic bomb during World War II, is now a National Historic Landmark, the federal government announced Monday.

"Building the B Reactor was a feat of engineering genius. So, too, was the construction a testament to the excellence of working Americans," said Lynn Scarlett, deputy secretary of the Department of Interior. "There was no wiggle room for error."

-SO THEN WHY DID IT LEAK AND CONTAMINATE TRILLIONS OF GALLONS OF GROUNDWATER?!!!!-

History buffs, former weapons workers and local officials have been seeking recognition for the plant for six years to help save it from being dismantled or permanently cocooned as part of the cleanup of the highly contaminated complex in south-central Washington state.

-GOES TO SHOW YOU HOW NAIVE THE GENERAL POPULATION IS. IT'S A SHAME BUILDING A TOURIST ATTRACTION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN CLEANING UP NUCLEAR WASTE-

Hanford and B Reactor were the centerpiece of the Manhattan Project, a top-secret effort to build an atomic bomb in the 1940s. More than 50,000 workers moved to the Tri-Cities of Richland, Kennewick and Pasco for the massive project on the banks of the Columbia River.

-AND BECAUSE OF THIS SITE, THE COLUMBIA RIVER IS HIGHLY POLLUTED-

Construction began on June 7, 1943, six months after physicist Enrico Fermi turned the theory of nuclear power into the reality of the Atomic Age. Eight more reactors were built at Hanford to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, leaving a legacy of pollution that has made Hanford the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, with cleanup costs expected to top $50 billion.

-CLEANUP HAS BEEN PUT OFF FOR DECADES AND THE SITE STILL CONTINUES TO CONTAMINATE THE AREA-

Five reactors have been dismantled and cocooned, a process in which buildings around the reactors are removed, all but the shield walls surrounding the reactor cores are leveled and the cores are sealed in concrete.

The B Reactor was shut down in 1968 and decommissioned. Under a cleanup schedule managed by the Department of Energy, dismantling could have begun as early as 2009. However, the department said it would maintain the reactor while the National Park Service decides whether it should be preserved and made available for public access.

Hank Kosmata, president of the B Reactor Museum Association in Richland, noted that achieving National Historic Landmark status for Reactor B took longer than building it.

-AND WAITING FOR THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO CLEAN UP ITS "LANDMARK" CONTINUES TO TAKE EVEN LONGER!!-

About 2,000 people have visited the complex this year. Next year, Energy Department officials plan to expand the number of tours of the building without impeding cleanup, said Jeffrey Kupfer, acting deputy secretary.

-YES, THE BEST PLACE TO VISIT IS ALWAYS A CONTAMINATED NUCLEAR REACTOR. HURRY, BOOK YOUR TOUR NOW!!-

story from the AP.
comments from me.

I do not want to make this a political post... but if you're planning on voting for McCain this November, you better be prepared to lobby against his "alternative energy" plan which consists of embracing NUCLEAR POWER, the most unsafe energy. Research how many nuclear power plants or reactors have leaked. The amount of contamination produced by nuclear power is astonding. The most recent case was discovered and publicized earlier this month when The United States has admitted that a nuclear-powered submarine steadily leaked radiation at three Japanese ports, as well as the Pacific island of Guam and Pearl Harbor in Hawaii FOR OVER TWO YEARS. If you are wondering why cancer rates are rising, look no further.