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| Ladybird beetle from Richland near Hanford, WA, USA |
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Radiation-contaminated areas in the United States |
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Plutonium factories at Hanford, in Washington State
In 1942, as part of the “Manhattan Project,” a
military base in Hanford, Washington, was turned into manufacturing
site for plutonium to fuel atomic bombs. From 1962 to 1965,
the federal government conducted secret experiments at
Hanford, code-named “Green Run,” in which radioactive
elements were deliberately released into the environment
to see what effects they would have on the human and animal
populations in the area. The public was not informed of
these experiments or allowed to evacuate. In 1971 the Hanford
plutonium factories were finally closed. The site is heavily
contaminated with radioactive materials such as phosphorus –32
and zinc –65. Some of this material, representing
22 million Ci (Curie) of radiation, leaked into the Columbia
River, which is still heavily |
Picture:
Ladybird beetle from Richland near Hanford,
WA, USA
The left wing is shorter
Watercolor, Richland 1998 |
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| Ladybird beetle from Richland near Hanford, WA, USA |
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Radiation-contaminated areas in the United States |
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Themes
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