Introduction
This oral history project seeks to document the ways in which Hanford has influenced how people and families in the Northwest think of themselves and live their lives. The project will explore this personal perspective on Hanford history through a series of oral histories with members of families living and working in the Inland Empire regions of Washington, Oregon and Idaho from 1944, when Hanford first began to produce plutonium, to the present. Project volunteers are now seeking families who would like to participate in project interviews.
Our nuclear heritage has engendered many differing and strongly held beliefs. We hope this project will inspire discussion among families across the Northwest about the ways that Hanford--and other significant events -- past or present -- touch and even transform our lives.
Hanford, which began manufacturing plutonium in December 1944, is a part of daily life for citizens across the Pacific Northwest. National and local headlines herald troubling federal funding cutbacks for the environmental cleanup, debate about restarting the Fast Flux Test Facility to produce tritium and medical isotopes, leaking waste tanks and movement of radioactive contamination into the ground water beneath Hanford.
For years Northwesterners were told by their government that Hanford was safe, that there was no cause for alarm. Then in 1986, 19,000 pages of secret government documents were made public. From these historical documents, it was learned that Hanford had released radioactive materials into the environment for over forty years. The federal government’s lack of truthfulness about radioactive contamination of the surrounding environment has left many area residents, particularly those whose health is compromised, angry and mistrustful of government.
Hanford has become a lightening rod for the debate concerning risk of health effects from chronic low-dose radiation exposure. According to the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project, over 2,000,000 people were exposed to Hanford’s radiation. Some say that the radioactivity released into the environment from Hanford has caused cancers, birth defects, immune system disorders and other health problems. Others say there is little scientific evidence for these claims.
The thousands of people working at Hanford today are charged with the vitally important task of cleaning-up of the nation’s most contaminated nuclear facility. It is both a mission and a source of livelihood. Washington’s Tri-Cities area, where Hanford is located, is an island of scientists and nuclear technology, set in a largely rural area. The symbol of the Richland High School football team, the Bombers, is a mushroom cloud. Most here trust in science. Many are pioneers on the frontier of nuclear waste technologies. In this community there is little sympathy for what are considered to be largely unfounded claims of health effects resulting to exposure to radiation released into the environment.
Yet others across the region are uneasy about the health and safety implications of having the nation’s most contaminated nuclear facility in our backyard. Those of us not trained as scientists do not have the expertise to assess this for ourselves. We must decide who, and what information, we can trust. A challenging task indeed when there are such disparate opinions and explanations.
Invitation to Participate:
The Project is seeking two or three families who believe that Hanford has affected their lives in some way and would like to share those experiences and reflections with others. We are looking for families who have lived in the Inland Empire since the '40s-'50s who have a son or daughter born in the Northwest and still living in the region. For each family we would like to interview one parent and an adult child who grew up in the region.
Interviews will include personal and family history, your personal experience and thoughts about Hanford, discussion of the ways that Hanford has influenced your life and the life of your family along with your hopes for the future. It is anticipated that interview will b carried out this Summer and Fall. The process will take about ten hours including interviews and review of transcripts.
This project which looks at the influence of Hanford on the lives of two generations of Pacific Northwest Families: is a volunteer effort initiated by Bea Kelleigh who has worked with the Hanford Health Information Network since 1992. Her work has led to an interest in the history of the region and of the many ways that Hanford has contributed to the history of the region and touched the lives of people throughout the Northwest. She is interested in documenting the personal experiences and recollections of families in the region for the information and use of use future generations. With the permission of those interviewed, transcripts of the interviews will be shared with others on the Hanford Time Capsule Web Site. Audio tapes and transcripts will be preserved and available in the Hanford Health Information Archives.
If you are interested in hearing more about participating in the Project, please e-mail me (Bea Kelleigh) at 74404.30@compuserve.com.
