The Department of Energy has set dates for the 2012 Public Tour Program at the Hanford Site. A total of sixty public
tours are planned, with tours beginning at 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. each day on the following dates:
April 10, 11, 12, 24 and 25
May 8, 9, 10, 22, 23 and 24
June 5, 6, 19 and 20
July 31
August 1, 2, 14, 15, 16, 28, 29 and 30
September 11, 12, 13, 25, 26, and 27
All tours begin and end at the B Reactor Tour Headquarters, located at 2000 Logston Blvd., Richland, off of Highway 240.
Each tour lasts approximately five hours.
Registration will begin at 12:01 a.m., PST, on Tuesday, March 6, 2012.
All tour slots are filled on a first-come first-served basis through an online registration system. Tour participants must be United States
citizens and at least 18 years of age. There is no cost to participate in a Hanford Public Tour.
All tour participants will board buses at the Reactor Tour Headquarters, located at
2000 Logston Boulevard, Richland, Washington.
A Hanford employee provides visitors with a guided tour of the Hanford Site, which includes an overview of Hanford's
role in the nation's defense effort during World War II and the Cold War, as well as information on today's environmental
cleanup mission. The tour route includes a drive by of Hanford's 300 Area where uranium was fabricated into fuel rods;
the nine nuclear reactors in the 100 Area located along the Columbia River where the fuel rods were irradiated to produce
plutonium for nuclear weapons; and the original Hanford and White Bluffs town sites. Visitors also will have a 75-minute
guided walking tour of the historic B Reactor, the world's first full-scale nuclear reactor.
Additionally, the tour includes briefings at several Hanford facilities supporting today's cleanup mission:
Hanford's Cold Test Facility (CTF), a mock-up of one of Hanford's 177 underground nuclear waste storage tanks.
Hanford's Plutonium Finishing Plant, which operated from 1949 to 1989, and represented the final step in the plutonium production effort at Hanford, producing hockey-puck sized plutonium buttons and plutonium oxide powder. Workers are now undertaking the monumental challenge of dismantling the PFP complex with the goal of tearing it down by 2015.
The Waste Treatment Plant, the world's largest facility for turning liquid, radioactive waste into a stable glass form suitable for permanent, safe disposal.
The Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF), where Hanford's low-level radioactive, hazardous, and mixed cleanup waste are disposed in a massive landfill with a capacity of over 16 million tons.
Karen Sinclair, Mission Support Alliance (509) 376-2151
Registration
Begins at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, March 6, 2012. Visitors will be registered on a first-come, first-served
basis only through the online web
registration system.
Age
Must be at least 18 years of age.
Identification
Photo driver's license, military ID, passport or state ID card.
Citizenship
Must be a United States citizen.
Clothing
Clothing must be appropriate for an industrial
environment. Anyone not dressed appropriately will not be allowed on the tour.
Closed-toed shoes are MANDATORY. Sandals, flip-flops, thongs, open toe/open heel and high heels shoes are
prohibited. Short sleeve shirts, knee-length shorts, or “capris” are acceptable
but skirts and sleeveless shirts are not allowed. Long pants are encouraged and highly recommended.
Visitor badges are required and will be issued to all visitors the day of the tour. Valid, unexpired
photo identification is required for each tour participant, and must be presented prior to visitors
receiving their badges. Valid identification includes a driver's license, military ID, passport
or state ID card. Name(s) provided on the online tour registration must match exactly the name
shown on photo ID. Authorized holders of Hanford Site Badges must bring their badge on the
day of the tour. Visitor badges will NOT be issued to individuals holding valid Hanford Site badges.
Note: Public tours are subject to immediate cancellation any
time security conditions for the Hanford Site change, or in the event of other security or safety concerns. Additionally, in
the unlikely event of an emergency or other unforeseeable situation, the tour bus may be required to remain on the
Hanford Site for longer than scheduled, or the tour may be immediately terminated. Tour participants should be
prepared for delays, or an earlier than normal return time.
The Department of Energy has set dates for the 2012 Public Tour Program at the Hanford Site. A total of sixty public
tours are planned, with tours beginning at 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. each day on the following dates:
