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
- 📝 What is "Theoretical History"?
- 📝 Why didn't former slaves become low-wage workers after emancipation?
- 📝 Why Marcus Aurelius did not restore the Roman Republic?
- 📝 How did the Bolsheviks gain power outside Petrograd & Moscow following the 1917 October Revolution?
- 📝 What are the best resources for studying oracle bone inscriptions?
- 📝 What was the first major technological advancement that occurred after the fall of the Roman Empire?
- 📝 Is there any evidence that Mileva Marić (first wife of Albert Einstein) had the knowledge to build an atomic bomb herself?
- 📝 Did Sun Tzu's "Art of War" influence Napoleon's philosophy of war and strategy?
- 📝 Why did Spartacus turn South at Mutina instead of continuing North towards Thrace?
- 📝 Is Kemal Atatürk responsible for Armenian Genocide?
- 📝 Why weren't the Barons of the Court of Exchequer Barons as peers?
- 📝 Why did wheat become the dominant food culture?
- 📝 How were British personnel employed in the colonies after independence
- 📝 When and where did Louis Blanc say the famous "from each according to his abilities..."?
- 📝 Was the Gulf War 1990 a complete surprise, or was a military build up evident?
- 📝 How many acres per person were needed for the early American settlers vs. the native Americans?
- 📝 What role (if any) did lend-lease equipment play in the Second Battle of El-Alamein?
- 📝 Are there records of federal courts under the Articles of Confederation?
- 📝 Could the 1864 US presidential election have been postponed?
- 📝 What was meant by the protest sign "Bundestag nach Berlin"?
- 📝 Were there moves to make anti-miscegenation laws apply to Jews in the USA?
- 📝 How successful was Odessa GubCheKa against criminal gangs in the 1920s?
- 📝 When did it become openly known that Wilson supported the Balfour Declaration?
- 📝 Why didn't the Khalkh Mongols support the Dzungars in their fight against China?
- 📝 When the Portuguese began the exploration of the West African Coast, did they believe the Indian Ocean was an enclosed sea?
- 📝 What are the outer vests/jackets that samurai wear?
- 📝 Why was "consumption of gypsum" seen as relevant medical problem following 'De Materia Medica'?
- 📝 Where can one study the movements of the natives of North America prior to European contact
- 📝 What was George Washington's opinion on having a city named after him?
- 📝 Who was the oldest recorded participant in a battle whom we know of?
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?
