Atomic Geography (eBook)

A Personal History of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation

Melvin R. Adams (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2021
154 Seiten
Washington State University Press (Verlag)
978-1-63682-042-2 (ISBN)

Infos

Perhaps the first environmental engineer at Hanford, Melvin R. Adams spent a career sifting through Hanford’s rubble, abandoned documents, factories, and tools. His thoughtful, written vignettes recall challenges and sites he worked on or found personally intriguing. In the process, he offers some surprising revelations and perspectives on controversial matters.

A 2016 ForeWord Magazine Top Ten University Pick.

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“I have spent a career sifting through the rubble, the abandoned documents, the factories and tools, with the thought of saving what remains of water, land, and animals. But water, wind, and root have their way.”--Melvin R. Adams

Perhaps the first environmental engineer at Hanford, Adams spent twenty-four years on its 586 square miles. His thoughtful vignettes recall challenges and sites he worked on or found personally intriguing, like the 216-U-pond. Nestled among the trees, the pond looks like a pleasant place to go fishing. In reality, it has been contaminated with plutonium longer than any other place on earth.

In what Adams considers his most successful project, he helped determine the initial scope of the soil and solid waste cleanup. The Environmental Restoration and Disposal Facility today covers 107 acres and has a capacity of 18 million tons.

His group also designed and tested a marked, maintenance-free disposal barrier. It uses natural materials that will remain stable for thousands of years. They expanded a network of groundwater monitoring wells to define contaminated plumes, assess treatment effectiveness, and provide relevant data to hydrologists. They also developed a pilot scale pump and treatment plant for use on a four-square-mile carbon tetrachloride plume.

His environmental and engineering unit included a biological control group fondly dubbed “The Weeds.” They controlled tumbleweeds, tracked and collected plants and animals found growing or digging in contaminated sites, and caught stray wildlife discovered in Hanford offices.

In Atomic Geography, Adams presents some surprising revelations. He shares his perspective on leaking high-level waste storage tanks, dosimeters, and Hanford’s obsession with safety. He answers the question he is asked most, insisting he does not glow in the dark. He leaves that to spent fuel rods in water storage basins--a phenomenon known as Cherenkov radiation.

“I have spent a career sifting through the rubble, the abandoned documents, the factories and tools, with the thought of saving what remains of water, land, and animals. But water, wind, and root have their way.”--Melvin R. Adams

Perhaps the first environmental engineer at Hanford, Adams spent twenty-four years on its 586 square miles. His thoughtful vignettes recall challenges and sites he worked on or found personally intriguing, like the 216-U-pond. Nestled among the trees, the pond looks like a pleasant place to go fishing. In reality, it has been contaminated with plutonium longer than any other place on earth.

In what Adams considers his most successful project, he helped determine the initial scope of the soil and solid waste cleanup. The Environmental Restoration and Disposal Facility today covers 107 acres and has a capacity of 18 million tons.

His group also designed and tested a marked, maintenance-free disposal barrier. It uses natural materials that will remain stable for thousands of years. They expanded a network of groundwater monitoring wells to define contaminated plumes, assess treatment effectiveness, and provide relevant data to hydrologists. They also developed a pilot scale pump and treatment plant for use on a four-square-mile carbon tetrachloride plume.

His environmental and engineering unit included a biological control group fondly dubbed “The Weeds.” They controlled tumbleweeds, tracked and collected plants and animals found growing or digging in contaminated sites, and caught stray wildlife discovered in Hanford offices.

In Atomic Geography, Adams presents some surprising revelations. He shares his perspective on leaking high-level waste storage tanks, dosimeters, and Hanford’s obsession with safety. He answers the question he is asked most, insisting he does not glow in the dark. He leaves that to spent fuel rods in water storage basins--a phenomenon known as Cherenkov radiation.

Inhalt

CONTENTS

Foreword by Roy Gephart

Introduction: What is Hanford?
A Unique Geography
A Place of Paradox
The Personal Challenge
A Hanford Timeline

Part I. Hanford: The Cultural Progression
First Fishing, Then Farming
The Beginning of Hanford
The Secret Revealed
Cleanup

Part II. Hanford: The Engineering Challenge
Coming to Hanford
Archaeological Analogs and the Nuclear Priesthood
The Weeds
Natural Analogs: Designing a Water Retaining Barrier
Thousands of Wells
Tumbleweeds
Bird in a Tank and Data Overload
Pumping Carbon Tetrachloride
Glowing in the Dark
Tank Leak Controversy

Part III. Anomalies and Unusual Events
The Atomic Pond
The PUREX Railroad Tunnels
Z-9 Crib, Poisoning Plutonium and Crawler Robots
Burial Grounds
The Atomic Man
How a Japanese Balloon Shut Hanford Down Hanford

Part IV. Hanford as Home
F House
The Street Names of Richland
Part V. Hanford: The National Park
The Hanford Reach
Elk and Wild Horses
Rare Plants/ New Plants
B Reactor

Part VI. Reflecting on Hanford
Hanford as a Redemptive Quest
The Poetic Response

Glossary

References

Appendix

Plates

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 18.6.2021
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
• Themenwelt: Naturwissenschaften ► Biologie ► Ökologie / Naturschutz
• Themenwelt: Technik ► Umwelttechnik / Biotechnologie
• Schlagworte: environmental engineer • Hanford engineer • Hanford history • Hazardous waste cleanup • Nuclear Waste
• ISBN-10: 1-63682-042-5 / 1636820425
• ISBN-13: 978-1-63682-042-2 / 9781636820422