Hanford B Reactor Tours Returning in Spring for Limited Run

Tours of the EM Hanford Site’s B Reactor National Historic Landmark are resuming this month for a limited time. B Reactor is part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park and is operated by the Department of Energy.

RICHLAND, Wash. — Public tours are set to resume this month for a limited time at the Hanford Site’s B Reactor National Historical Park, part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park, which also includes facilities in Los Alamos, New Mexico, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee.

Last August, EM announced that planned historic preservation work at B Reactor would require closure of the facility for at least two tour seasons after the 2023 season ended in November. Hanford contractor Central Plateau Cleanup Company is set to carry out the preservation work. As the company’s plans and schedules came together, DOE identified an opportunity to allow additional public access before the preservation work begins.

“Last summer’s announcement, combined with the popularity of the movie ‘Oppenheimer,’ led to all seats for the remainder of the 2023 tour season being booked within two days as people rushed to reserve the remaining seats through mid-November,” said Colleen French, DOE’s national park program manager. “I’m so happy we’re able to give people another chance to get out there and see this amazing piece of history for themselves before the work gets going.”

Tour seats are available March 29 through the end of June, and then will be opened on a month-by-month basis from July to September, depending on the contractor’s construction schedule. Visitors of all ages and nationalities are welcome. To register for a tour or for more information, visit the tour website.

Since B Reactor tours began in 2009, visitors have come from all 50 states and more than 90 countries around the world. The tours also have a positive economic effect on the surrounding communities, bringing several million dollars each year in hotel bookings, restaurant visits and purchases.

The free tours last about four hours and offer a guided experience and time for visitors to walk around on their own to ask questions and reflect on the complicated legacy of the Manhattan Project and its continued impact worldwide.

Can’t make it in person? The Manhattan Project National Historical Park has virtual tours for B Reactor, Hanford’s T Plant and Oak Ridge’s X-10 Graphite Reactor and Y-12 Pilot Plant.