B Reactor – Richland, Washington - Atlas Obscura
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B Reactor

Richland, Washington

A 1940s nuclear reactor built to produce plutonium for the Manhattan Project. 

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Front face of the B Reactor. Taken 10/27/2022 on public tour. prwood (Atlas Obscura User)
Front face of the B Reactor. Taken 10/27/2022 on public tour. prwood (Atlas Obscura User)
Exterior of B Reactor MarkJ (Atlas Obscura User)
Reactor B - Outside wschraml (Atlas Obscura User)
Front face of the reactor stack wschraml (Atlas Obscura User)
Model of the reactor core wschraml (Atlas Obscura User)
Old test equipment wschraml (Atlas Obscura User)
Electrical control cabinet wschraml (Atlas Obscura User)
Rod temperature gauges wschraml (Atlas Obscura User)
Inside one of the control cabinets wschraml (Atlas Obscura User)
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B Reactor, built in just 11 months from 1943 to 1944, was the world’s first full-scale nuclear reactor, designed to produce plutonium as part of the Manhattan Project. Plutonium from B Reactor and its two sisters, D and F Reactors, were used in the Trinity test bomb and the Nagasaki bomb.

The tour season runs from April through mid-November and currently is free of charge. There are no age or citizenship restrictions. In the future the site will be run by the National Park Service and there may be fees associated with visiting, but for now the tours are free. A 45-minute bus ride to and from the reactor is required (no private vehicles allowed at this time).  Docents are on the bus and at the reactor to provide information.

Know Before You Go

Register online for tours at http://manhattanprojectbreactor.hanford.gov/index.cfm
Tours are generally Monday through Saturday. Generally there will be one tour on Monday and Tuesday and two tours on the other days.

It is also possible to get a walk-on spot on the tour bus if room is available.

weapons nuclear technology
Community Contributors
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Added by
MarkJ
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Edited by
prwood, wschraml, wtcbadewey
Published
September 30, 2016
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