National Register of Historic Places
Hanford B Reactor
Hanford B Reactor is a historic place in Richland, Benton County, Washington, listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 1992, and designated a National Historic Landmark. Its National Register reference number is 92000245.
Location 01
Hanford B Reactor
Drag to explore · scroll to zoom · select a marker
About this place
What is Hanford B Reactor?
The B Reactor at the Hanford Site, near Richland, Washington, was the first large-scale nuclear reactor ever built, at 250 MW. It achieved criticality on September 26, 1944. This reactor was of vital importance to the Manhattan Project, the United States nuclear weapons development program during World War II. Its purpose was to convert part of its natural uranium fuel into plutonium-239 by neutron activation, for use in nuclear weapons. Pure plutonium was then chemically separated at the site's T Plant, as an alternative to the Project's uranium enrichment plants in Tennessee. The B reactor was graphite moderated and water-cooled, via a contaminating open cycle with the Columbia River.
Source: Wikipedia, text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
The record
Listing details
- Name
- Hanford B Reactor
- City
- Richland
- County
- Benton County
- State
- Washington
- Listed on the National Register
- April 3, 1992
- NRIS reference number
- 92000245
- Resource type
- structure
- National Historic Landmark
- Yes
- Coordinates
- 46.63035, -119.64732
When was Hanford B Reactor listed on the National Register?
Hanford B Reactor was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 3, 1992.
Where is Hanford B Reactor located?
Hanford B Reactor is located in Richland, Benton County, Washington at approximately 46.63035, -119.64732. See the map above.
Is Hanford B Reactor a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. Hanford B Reactor is designated a National Historic Landmark, the highest federal recognition for a historic place.
Nearby on the register