Draft:B Reactor Museum Association
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B Reactor Museum Association
[edit]The B Reactor Museum Association, or BRMA, is a non-profit "all-volunteer association of individuals and groups" that originally formed in 1990 to advocate for the preservation of the B Reactor, the world's first industrial-scale nuclear reactor near Richland, Washington.[1] The BRMA newsletter is The Moderator. As of 2024, BRMA's president is Dave Marsh.[2]
History and Formation
[edit]
The B Reactor, located at the Hanford site, was built in 1943 to produce plutonium for the Manhattan Project, the United States' nuclear weapons development program during World War II.[3] The B Reactor, located at the Hanford site, was built in 1943 to produce plutonium for the Manhattan Project, the United States' nuclear weapons development program during World War II.[1] At the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s, all plutonium production ceased at Hanford. As part of the Department of Energy's (DOE) plan to clean up the Hanford site, all reactors on site were each set to be "cocooned" under a protective structure until the radiation had decayed enough to be demolished, a 75-year-long process.[4] During the 1990s, DOE headquarters is purported to have released a statement that said, "We are not in the museum business."[5][6]
Prior to BRMA, local organizations such as the Tri-City Technical Council ("an umbrella organization of representatives from the 20-some scientific and engineering societies that were active in the Tri-Cities") encouraged the formation of an association to preserve B Reactor.[5] Concerned over the DOE's lack of plans for historic preservation, BRMA was founded to save the reactor and make it a public museum.[4]
BRMA members are largely a group of "former Hanford employees, public historians, and local residents."[7]
BRMA Goals
[edit]According to the official book created by BRMA, Saving B Reactor: History of the B Reactor Museum Association (BRMA) and the Struggle for Preservation and Public Access to B Reactor, the original six goals of the association were to:
"1. Initiate and support efforts to set aside B Reactor as a Museum, National Landmark, or National Park.
2. Restore the reactor building and contents to reflect its appearance during operation.
3. Add exhibits that reflect the history of the Hanford site.
4. Provide access to B Reactor, including road access from Highway 24 or 240.
5. Educate the public as to the historical and technological significance of B Reactor.
6. Promote other attractions in the Tri-City area to increase visitors to B Reactor."[8]
Revised Goals 2015
[edit]After B Reactor became a part of the Manhattan Project National Historical Park in November 2015, BRMA goals "were revised to reflect a change in mission and vision for the organization."[8] Those revised goals revolved around collaborating with the DOE, the NPS, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Atomic Heritage Foundation, and elected officials on park development and interpretation. BRMA also aimed to create and help develop exhibits and displays and expand their merchandise sales.[9] BRMA merchandise is available at the Xenophile Bibliopole & Armorer, Chronopolis bookstore in Richland.
Oral History Projects
[edit]BRMA began conducting oral histories of former Hanford workers and White Bluffs and Richland residents in 1991.[10]The oral histories conducted by BRMA are located on the Hanford History Project website. The first oral history project was conducted by Bill Putnam in the early '90s; they were audiovisual with the intent to make a documentary about original Hanford workers. Gene Weisskopf directed the second and third oral history projects, which were audio only and each for heritage documentation of the B Reactor and T Plant. The last oral history was recorded in 2001.
Further reading
[edit]- B Reactor Museum Association (May 2001). B Reactor Historic American Engineering Record (HAER). U.S. Department of Energy. https://b-reactor.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/HAER_WA-164_B-Reactor.pdf.
- Johnson, Ben; Romanelli, Richard; Pierard, Bert (March 2017). Lost in the Telling: The Dupont Company--The Forgotten Producers of Plutonium (3rd ed.). Richland: B Reactor Museum Association. https://b-reactor.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Lost_In_The_Telling-Rev_3.pdf.
- Ballard, Del (May 2024). Marsh, Dave; Weisskopf, Gene (eds.). Saving B Reactor: History of the B Reactor Museum Association (BRMA) and the Struggle for Preservation and Public Access (1st ed.). Richland: BRMA.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "B Reactor". B Reactor Museum Association. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
- ^ "Who We Are". B Reactor Museum Association. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
- ^ "B Reactor: Preserving a Transformative Piece of U.S. History". Energy.gov. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
- ^ a b Scott, Chey (October 31, 2019). "A museum and park, Hanford's 75-year-old B Reactor is a vital reminder of the nuclear age's extraordinary potential and devastating power". Inlander.
- ^ a b Ballard, Del (2016-06-01). "B Reactor 70th Anniversary Address". B Reactor Museum Association.
- ^ Cary, Annette (December 7, 2022). "Tri-Cities earns national honor given to just one place in Washington state". Tri-City Herald.
- ^ Bauman, Robert (2007). "Teaching Hanford History in the Classroom and in the Field". The Public Historian. 29 (4): 45–55. doi:10.1525/tph.2007.29.4.45. ISSN 0272-3433. JSTOR 10.1525/tph.2007.29.4.45.
- ^ a b Ballard, Del (May 2024). Marsh, Dave; Weisskopf, Gene (eds.). Saving B Reactor: History of the B Reactor Museum Association (BRMA) and the Struggle for Preservation and Public Access (1st ed.). Richland: BRMA. p. 15.
- ^ Ballard (2024), 15-16.
- ^ Metcalf, Gale (August 29, 1993). "B Reactor Museum members work to preserve monument to past". Tri-City Herald. p. 25.
Category:Manhattan Project Category:Manhattan Project sites Category:Hanford Site Category:Hanford Site people Category:National Park Service Category:Nuclear history