Capturing History: Photography Tour of Hanford B-Reactor
This past fall, a little movie called “Oppenheimer” was released in theaters, and with it came a flurry of curiosity into the Manhattan Project and the race for nuclear power.
Like all things in life, when something catches my interest and I would like to learn more, I tend to go all in… and I mean ALL IN. The first order of business was reading American Prometheus, the book Oppenheimer was based on. And among this interest, my wife found out that there was a tour at an inactive nuclear power plant in Hanford, Washington. Just so happens that this was one of the locations utilized to produce uranium for the atom bomb.
And just like that, tickets were ordered, and the trip was set. Next stop: the B-reactor in Hanford.
The Tour
The drive from Seattle to Hanford gets quite dull once you are over the I-90 pass east out of Seattle. While there might be the occasional vista worth gazing upon, there really isn’t much apart from rest stops, fruit stands, and plenty of large trucks.
Eventually, I arrived at the Tri-Cities area, and again, not much going on here. Doesn’t matter anyway, we are here to talk about the Hanford site.
Approaching the site is a rather dull experience, simply because you meet at a visitor center 45 minutes away, and then have to ride a bus to the location.
Arriving at the visitor center, I quickly recognized that the budget here is lean, so one will need to tame their expectations on the presentation level of the “staging area”.
The visitor area comes with a general history lesson, a movie, and a handful of props and displays, but I kept thinking of the missed opportunities to find a more reasonable location much closer. The bus ride is a bit helpful due to the “charming” tour guide dropping facts and details along the way. I really didn’t know much going in, so I did appreciate the little details which help frame up the destination a bit more.
After a short while on the bus, you will arrive at the site, which is far off the main road and behind a few locked gates. The location is still an “active” site, as the reactor is still there — just not active. Crazy.
I’m not going to go into many details (if any) about anything specific about the site, simply out of an effort that I do not want to get any details wrong — go online and learn as much as you like.
But if you do not know, wiki says it best:
“Established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project, the site was home to the Hanford Engineer Works and B Reactor, the first full-scale plutonium production reactor in the world. Plutonium manufactured at the site was used in the first atomic bomb, which was tested in the Trinity nuclear test, and in the Fat Man bomb used in the bombing of Nagasaki.”
Where were we?
Oh yeah, nuclear reactors and stuff.
My first impression as I entered this odd building was that I had no idea what a nuclear reactor even looked like. I simply could not understand what I was seeing with my eyes. A technology from the 40s, the first of its kind, sitting right there in front of me. But what is it? What is this giant room? And what’s up with that giant cube, with all those valves, knobs, and buttons?
Fast-forward past the presentation and the free roam tour began. These are my favorite types of tours — going at your pace and not having to talk to anybody.
You will be onsite for a few hours, and there are plenty of places you can explore, view more displays, models, and a few scheduled presentations here and there. Overall, the experience is very fascinating and more engaging than I anticipated.
Time on site was spent exploring some of the exterior, taking a few site locations in windy conditions. Everything was handheld, and the only thing in motion was the American flag near the entrance.
The most interesting room (besides the main reactor) was the control room. Crazy to imagine that all these gauges, screens, and analog interfaces were utilizing dials, knobs, and paper readouts. Today, this is all done with digital screens, so it’s always a shock to see how similar machines operate and ponder how far we have come.
One of the more shocking elements of this tour was going down a back hallway near the control room and seeing the professing floor through a window. This is the area where the radioactive rods were extracted from the reactor, dropped in water, and then removed and staged on the train for delivery.
The room is still radioactive.
The core is still “technically” active and could continue to be so for thousands of years.
If you want to get crazy, the Hanford site is the most polluted location in America, with over 56 million barrels of radioactive waste in tunnels under the property.
All of these would have been nice to know before my visit. Thankfully, I was assured that the site is safe and there is nothing to worry about, but to give them a call if I grow a third eye.
Wrapping up the tour side of things, I was skeptical going in that I would enjoy my time, and left with a strong impression and learned a bit more about wartime history. Anybody with an open mind and a camera in hand can keep themselves preoccupied enough, and I am grateful that I went with both.
If you ever find yourself in the area, book a tour and enjoy the experience — just try to avoid staying locally as long as possible.
The Experience
There is something about historical sites like this that are very intriguing to me. Maybe it is because something significant happened in the past at this exact location, and now it is just… quiet.
Exploring and photographing often helps me focus and develop a deeper connection. Not only am I learning and taking in the experience, but I am also exploring how to capture the location in a way that will help me remember and stay connected with the experience.
The same applies to taking notes as writing things down. I most likely won’t re-read or reference the content — the simple act of capturing the moment can typically be enough to help catalog mental snapshots for future reference.
When I’m at a historical location, there are always the stereotypical shots I could take. Beyond that, I really try to focus on capturing the “normal life” of what it may have been like to be there. I don’t typically try to take photos that, I think, are incredible by any means, but lean more towards “documenting” for personal reflection.
I always encourage people to do this with their camera or even their phone. Don’t just take dumb photos of this or that… focus on objects or locations that will help reinforce your personal experience while also inspiring others to learn more.
Ask yourself, “Are you really going to like this photo?” “Is this photo I would be proud to reflect on in the future?” Sure, that is a bit heavy, but the point is, take images with purpose and intent. Those extra few moments of pause and reflection can go a long way.
