Why was Hanford, Washington, selected during World War II as the site of America’s first nuclear energy plant?
score:8
A vast, isolated area was needed to produce plutonium because no one knew for sure how much damage the radiation it gave off might do. Abundant power for plutonium production and water to cool the heat that built up were also needed.
What seemed like an ideal location existed in a barren corner of Benton County in Central Washington. Hanford was isolated—the nearest large own was Yakima, a hundred miles away. Although the land was desert, the climate was fairly mild. The Columbia River, an abundant source of water for cooling reactors, flowed through the village. (This was why even more isolated areas, such as New Mexico, were not chosen for the plutonium reactor—no water for cooling was nearby.) Also, the Grand Coulee Dam was producing abundant power nearby.
And, of course, it would be easy to build a factory town here because of the smooth land—certainly not a deciding factor in the selection of Hanford, but nevertheless gratefully acknowledged by the U.S. Army engineers who were called upon to build thousands of barracks posthaste.
By the way, the actual reactor was constructed several miles north of Hanford—not right inside town, as the question implies.
More post
- 📝 Recorded data on crime rates
- 📝 When did the German people learn that they had a large, powerful military, in violation of the Versailles Treaty?
- 📝 How aware were the latter Greek-speaking Romans (ERE: Byzantines) of the early history of Rome?
- 📝 Was the ancient Roman King ( i.e. rex) elected for eight years?
- 📝 Could there be frozen animals under Antarctica's ice sheets?
- 📝 What advantages did Catholic missionaries to the Indians have over Protestant missionaries in old Oregon Country?
- 📝 Did Jefferson really say this quote about patriotism?
- 📝 Why did the Patrice Lumumba University eject Carlos the Jackal?
- 📝 Who was the sitter for John Everett Millais's painting "The Somnambulist"?
- 📝 How is this pattern from Pompeii also in Cappella Sansevero?
- 📝 To what extent was Christianity responsible for the dark ages of Western Europe?
- 📝 Relation between Afroamerican religions and colonial metropoles?
- 📝 Why did Churchill become the PM of Britain during WWII instead of Lord Halifax?
- 📝 ‘Avoid sleeping on your back’ & ‘breathe in toilet smells’ were seen as precautions against the Black Death. Why did doctors think these would work?
- 📝 Was Marine Corps B. Gen. Evans Fordyce Carlson -- leader of the Carlson Raiders -- suspected of being a communist?
- 📝 Why did the maple leaf become associated with Canada?
- 📝 Who proposed the motion that gave Gaius Julius Caesar the title Augustus?
- 📝 Has any G7 country deliberately defaulted on sovereign debt to punish a certain country?
- 📝 Chronology of Political Party Alignment with "Left" and "Right"
- 📝 How quickly could the Roman legions march? How did it compare to their cavalry?
- 📝 Is there a historical explanation as to why the USA people are so litigious compared to the French?
- 📝 Did Gavrilo Princip ever express regret for his actions during imprisonment?
- 📝 Historical examples of significant no man's lands between states in perpetual conflict
- 📝 Did non-Indians go into Indian Territory (now Oklahoma)?
- 📝 Was it common to brush off Hitler's radical remarks as just figures of speech to whip up the supporters among US commentators in the 1930's?
- 📝 When did the Catholic Inquisition stop using torture?
- 📝 How is serfdom related to slavery?
- 📝 Did the Maya civilization recognize that it was into an ecological crisis?
- 📝 Demonym for someone from the kingdom of D'mt
- 📝 Were railroads indispensable to American economic development?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 Why was Hanford, Washington, selected during World War II as the site of America’s first nuclear energy plant?
- 📝 Why was Washington State an attractive site for aluminum production during World War II?
- 📝 During World War I, why were church bells stopped until the war was over?
- 📝 Why was America much better prepared earlier in World War II in the air than in other respects?
- 📝 Why didn't Imperial Japan attack the Soviet Union during World War 2?
- 📝 Why didn’t Japan attack the West Coast of the United States during World War II?
- 📝 Why was World War I ended on Nov 11 11:00, rather than immediately upon signing the armistice?
- 📝 How did the Nazis plan to defeat America during World War II?
- 📝 Why was Switzerland not attacked during the two World Wars?
- 📝 Why was the Western Front so static in World War I?
- 📝 Why was the Cold War carried out over the whole world instead of between Siberia and Alaska?
- 📝 In World War II, why was the ratio of killed to wounded of the Royal Navy twice that of the US Navy?
- 📝 What was the estimated malaria death toll for US Forces during World War II?
- 📝 Why did the French "surrender" all of its troops during the armistice in World War II?
- 📝 During World War II, were there any parts of the Japanese overseas empire that was capable of local re-supply?
- 📝 Why was there an increase in literature regarding fire safety in America during the 1970s?
- 📝 Why was the World Trade Center selected as a target by Al Qaeda?
- 📝 What was the most popular food staple among civilians during World War II?
- 📝 Was the town Jadovno near Gospić named after the concentration camp during World War 2, or was it the other way around?
- 📝 What was the extent of military conscription by the German Army during World War 2?
- 📝 Why was France granted an equal status among victors of World War II?
- 📝 Why was Spanish Fascist dictatorship left in power after World War II?
- 📝 Did the Soviets excel in one area of weaponry during World War II?
- 📝 Why did the German army execute so few soldiers in World War I compared to most other armies?
- 📝 Why did Chamberlain act to appease Hitler leading up to the outbreak of World War 2?
- 📝 What was the reason for Soviet troops to withdraw from Yugoslavia in World War II?
- 📝 Why was there a surge in the US incarceration rate during the 1990s?
- 📝 What was the longest a World War II submarine stayed at sea without being resupplied at a port?
- 📝 What was the strategy to protect the British Museum during the World Wars?
- 📝 Why did the United States enter World War I?