Hanford’s B Reactor Makes USA Today’s 10Best
Hanford has provided good, steady jobs for generations and will continue to do so for years. In 2004, Hanford started giving public tours. Tours had been very limited before 2001, but after the September 11th attacks, they stopped.
In 2008, B-Reactor was made a National Historic Landmark. In 2015, the Manhatten Project National Historic Park was established to protect sites that included Hanford. Tours of B Reactor are free and take about 4 hours. Yes, bathrooms are available.
B-Reactor was the first nuclear reactor of its size ever built. The reactor created the plutonium used in Fat Man, the second-ever nuclear weapon ever deployed in warfare. Fat Man and Little Boy were the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in combat.
When we think of Tri-Cities tourism, we naturally think about the vineyards, wineries, and riverfronts. But, B Reactor and Hanford's history, in general, is also very high on that list. So high, in fact, that it was named as a place to visit by USA Today's 10Best. What draws national levels of intrigue? Is it the history, or perhaps the mystery that shrouds the site?