The Green Run: Hanford has been intentionally poisoning us for decades

Hi all...a bad cold has me restricted to the couch, so here I am spending more time than usuall on ATS. As always, it has me thinking and researching things that I normally wouldn't have the time for; the very thing that I love so much about this site! THIS current ATS thread is in regards to the most recent news coming out of the Hanford nuclear site. One of whistleblowers and government cover-ups. One might think this is new news, or at least surely not a repeat of mistakes in the past come to haunt us again.

As I was reading and commenting on the above thread (I encourage you to visit it), it brought up memories. You see, I grew up in Yakima, Washington. Not too far from the Hanford site, one of the 'Downwind' areas. There were always stories. Rumours about Hanford. I moved there in the early 70s when I was just a few years old. Until the early 80s, there were only rumours to go off of, because the intentional poisoning of thousands of people had been sealed.

Let me back up a little bit. That might be hard for even an ATS'r to believe, so I should explain to you first what the Hanford site is:


Back in the early 1940s the US Government needed an area far removed from nearby civilization but close to a clean water supply, so they could produce plutonium and get in on the nuclear arms race.

They found that in a remote area in Washington State. Even though there were two small towns and an indian tribe living there....they simply took it:

In December 1942, Groves dispatched his assistant Colonel Franklin T. Matthias and DuPont engineers to scout potential sites. Matthias reported that Hanford was "ideal in virtually all respects," except for the farming towns of White Bluffs and Hanford.[21] General Groves visited the site in January and established the Hanford Engineer Works, codenamed "Site W". The federal government quickly acquired the land under its eminent domain authority and relocated some 1,500 residents of Hanford, White Bluffs, and nearby settlements, as well as the Wanapum and other tribes using the area.[22] DuPont advertised for workers in newspapers for an unspecified "war construction project" in southeastern Washington, offering "attractive scale of wages" and living facilities

There is a whole bunch of interesting info on the following linked WIKI site, and I suggest you at least browse through it so that you understand the massive project that this was. The B reactor was the largest in the world. It is now the MOST CONTAMINATED SITE IN THE WORLD.

Source


So....what is the Green Run? Well, Hanford was the largest pluntonium producer in the world. Over half of the plutonium used in the USA's arsenal was made there. In the begining of this mad rush, they weren't too concerned about safety issues and large amounts of radioactive isotopes were released. Even so, the single largest release in a day was intentionally done. It was a test. By our own Government. The public (although rumoured) didn't oficially know about it until fourty years later when the documents were declassified by the DOE.

In 1949 the Russians were ramping up their own nuclear arsenal and began testing nukes. Our government was scared and wanted a way to measure for these tests. We had no basis to go off of, so they decided to use the hanford site as a test facility by intentionally releasing radioctive material into the air and then testing the levels.

Activities at Hanford resulted in the release of large amounts of radiation into the air, water and soil of the Northwest over several decades. Many of the radiation releases have exceeded permissible limits. Some of the radiation releases have admittedly been intentional, a way of conducting Cold War nuclear experiments on an unknowing and captive population. All of it was done in the name of the national security and the rush to produce more and more plutonium.



The largest intentional release of radiation at Hanford occurred in 1949, and is known as the "Green Run." The public was unaware of this event until some 40 years later, in the late 1980's, when the DOE first declassified release reports acknowledging that the Green Run had occurred and then only after a newspaper reporter sued the agency.



Documents showed that Hanford intentionally and secretly released about 8,000 curies of radioactive iodine on Dec. 2, 1949. Allegedly the radiation was released to monitor the radioactive plume stretching across Oregon and Washington in hopes of evaluating equipment used in determining the location of similar Soviet plutonium production plants.



The Green Run was a huge release by any standard. The 1979 Three Mile Island accident released between 15 and 24 curies of radioactive iodine, several hundred times less than the Green Run, and nearby residents were evacuated from the area.



No one living downwind from Hanford was ever evacuated or warned of the Green Run or any of the other radioactive release from Hanford. Spanning more than 40 years, a set of 400 environmental documents were made public in 1986. These documents revealed that Hanford regularly emitted radiation into the environment. Between 1944 and 1947 the total estimated radioactive iodine released from Hanford was at least 685,000 curies; a truly staggering amount.



Despite this fact, contractors working for the federal government at Hanford repeatedly informed the public that Hanford was safe. When the public asked if Hanford was safe, they were told that "not one atom" had ever escaped from Hanford and that Hanford was as "safe as mother's milk."

When local residents, concerned over the rumours of this and other releases, asked about it the government told them that it was "as safe as mothers milk".

Today, citizens of Washington, Oregon and Idaho are outraged that the federal government secretly irradiated them and lied about it. Many are worried about their health, and for good reason. By 1940 standards (much more lax than those of today), the Green Run alone exposed those living near Hanford to amounts of radiation 20 times above tolerance thresholds. Those who lived downwind of Hanford in the years of the releases have subsequently reported widespread incidents of serious diseases often associated with radiation exposure, including cancer and thyroid disease.

source for above two quotes lots of good stuff on this site

In 1946 General Electric took over operations and quickly began building more reactors. By 1963 there were NINE nuclear reactors at the site. All but one of those reactors were shut down by 1971 (my birth year) and the last one finally in 1987. It now houses a host of nasty nuclear waste, including the most dangerous in the world.

Problem is, those underground containters are leaking. Turns out they have been leaking for decades and even though they knew about it, nothing has been done. These containers sit next to the Columbia river:

Continued....

...Continued:

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America.[9] The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It flows northwest and then south into the US state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state of Oregon before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The river is 1,243 miles (2,000 km) long, and its largest tributary is the Snake River. Its drainage basin is roughly the size of France and extends into seven U.S. states and a Canadian province.

Source


So it's obvious that if this river were to become polluted with nuclear waste, the outcome would be devastating for the whole PNW...and potentially the world.


SO...what is being done about this blatant attack on America's people, our land and lives? Well....absolutely NOTHING. That's right. Nothing. In fact, the 'downwinders' that have suffered numerous sorts of cancers and illnesses have been in litigation for years and NOTHING has been done. Even though our own government acknowledged that this release happened in the 1940s and the affects of these massive doses is well documented.

Carol Forsloff – Lori McMillan is one of a number of people who claim to have serious health problems related to radiation exposure from living near the Hanford Nuclear Plant. Like others who are referred to as “downwinders,” her claims are contested by science and the law, even as anecdotal evidence mounts against Hanford, an area in Eastern Washington said to be more contaminated and dangerous than any area in the world. Her story is like many other people, including this journalist, who was married to nuclear physicist, Francis Czerniejewski, and who lived in the region just a few miles from Hanford for five years during the 1960′s.

source

Here is a site that describes the multiple lawsuites and their outcomes. Basicaly from what I can tell, so far (as of 2012) only a few people have managed to settle out of court. This is out of THOUSANDS and the cost of years of litigation that most people can not afford. Take some time to read and research what these people have gone through. Totally unbelievable.



Now this brings us to today. Almost 35 years later, and we are now just seeing something in the MSM about the poison leaching into the ground at this site. It has been happening since the 1970s. It was reported, ignored, litigated, whistleblowers punished....scary stuff happening. I am sure we will never know the full story or the complete impact of all of this. It really is very scary though. I am now living on the other side of the cascade mountains, but still have family in the tri-cities, yakima and ellensburg. Are they being exposed even now? I attended a week-long Hazmat training class on the Hanford site (how ironic is that?) two years ago. How much radiation was I exposed to during that time?

A local Seattle news station (King 5) has a series of investigative news reports into this. Here is a link to all of them:

Hanford's Dirty Secrets

Haven't heard about it? Not surprising. I am amazed they were allowed to broadcast this and applaud them for it. Some excerpts:

The private company that manages the radioactive waste tank farms at the Hanford Site ignored or missed numerous red flags over a 10-month period that showed a double-shell tank holding some of the worst waste was leaking.

Over much of that time, one Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS) employee -- Mike Geffre -- continued to urge his superiors to take some sort of action.

But from Oct. 9, 2011 -- the day a leak detector alarm went off -- until the first week of August 2012 -- when a scheduled video inspection documented the leak -- WRPS let evidence of the problem pile up without taking action to confirm what the tank monitoring instruments were showing and what advice experienced employees like Geffre were offering. The leak was not officially confirmed and revealed to the public until Oct. 22, 2012.

In one of the other linked stories above, they report how the DOE (department of energy) contributed over a million dollars to the lawsuit to help defend against a whistleblower. So our own government is helping to pay to keep people quiet, and punish those who aren't. Great.

Bottom line here, is that the GREEN RUN happened. It is now a fact that our own government intentionally poisoned us. I don't know what is worse; that they did it or are now unwilling to acknowledge the consequences of their actions.

We now know (thanks to reports like King 5 and the people brave enough to stand up and talk), that there is hazardous waste leaking at the site RIGHT NOW. Not just a little....150 to 300 gallons a year, possibly since 1979. This is the worst stuff on the planet, right next to a major tributary in the United States. It is happening NOW, right HERE. Just because it isn't something tha you can see, doesn't mean you shouldn't be afraid or involved.

We, the people can NOT let this be kept quiet. This story needs to be spread. It needs to be taken to the lawn of the white house. I don't even know what can be done about it....but I DO know that it can't be silenced!


one more site you should read

reply to post by westcoast

This site has some pics showing Hanford and other waste sites, etc.

First Plutonium Reactor

And the picture gallery by Robert Del Tredici from his book "Working in the Fields of the Bomb":

www.ccnr.org...

reply to post by intrptr


The more I read about this, the more I wonder just how much radiation we were exposed to. (and still are)

All the questions and studies going on right now to try and determine the increase in cancers and other disorders...perhaps the answer is right under our nose.

My ex's family was born and raised in the fields of Ellensburg. Many of them later died (and thier offspring) of rare forms of cancers/leukemias. Thyroid issues, etc.

People don't think that something like this could happen in the States, but is has and is still going on. The more you dig into this, it just gets crazier.

reply to post by westcoast

The more I read about this, the more I wonder just how much radiation we were exposed to. (and still are)

And going to be. It is increasing.

All the questions and studies going on right now to try and determine the increase in cancers and other disorders...perhaps the answer is right under our nose.

Hard to pin down. A cosmic ray from some distant supernovae can mutate your genes as easy as an ingested alpha emitter. If cancer does develop later, its impossible to tell from whence it came. Even if a victim is heavily contaminated and expensive tests are performed it still can't be determined if the cancer came from a radioactive element, mercury, PCB's or chest X-ray. Thats part of why they are so quiet about it. Who wants the people afflicted to have evidence? Plausible deniability.

My ex's family was born and raised in the fields of Ellensburg. Many of them later died (and thier offspring) of rare forms of cancers/leukemias. Thyroid issues, etc.

So sorry for the loss.

People don't think that something like this could happen in the States, but is has and is still going on. The more you dig into this, it just gets crazier.

Don't let it dig too deep into your psyche. I am amazed that we aren't dropping like flies, too.
Some of this (IMO) has to do with the bodies own immunity systems. The process casts off toxins, as new ones come in others are thrown off. Ongoing process that is aided by our own life styles of nutrition, hydration and exercise.

Then theres that special protection factor. I can only attribute this to some kind of well being and well karma that results from the way we live our lives in regards to others. I don't think it can be measured like electricity.

As an example I smoked cigarettes most of my life. I took a ton of drugs, alcohol, lived homeless, ate poorly, was a jerk, etc. I live on the west coast and have been exposed to the computer industry of circuit boards, solvents, solder, auto mechanics, metals, torch cutting, asbestos, ... ... ..

I don't know why I am not dead yet a bunch of times over. Its scary to think about it too much. Has something to do with our heart and intent or "bent" in life, if you will. I see that in you too, by the way.

Carry on...

And then there is this:

Preparing Hanford For A Major Earthquake

Of course, shifting knowledge about the Yakima Fold and Thrust belt doesn't just have direct implications for the Columbia Generating Station. As separate as the Columbia Generating Station and the Hanford Site may be from a management and oversight standpoint, the fact remains that the two are inextricably linked, if for no other reason but geography.

What happens, for example, if the World War II era “Canyon" buildings where uranium was processed collapse? What if the K-basins that store fuel from Hanford's old N-Reactor leak? What if a radioactive release at Hanford hampers responders' ability to address a crisis at the Columbia Generating Station?

A lot of peple don't realize there have been quake swarms happening now in the hanford area for several years. So in addition to the leaking tanks...what would a mag 3 or 4 quake have on these already weakened tanks?

reply to post by intrptr


All good points. And yes, I agree with you in how we lives our lives. (thank you )

While I am aware of what is happening, and have more knowledge and research now...realistically, there isn't much to be done about it, other than try to also make others aware.

It is always surprising to me how so many simply ignore somethin like this. They would rather read about who wore the best dress this weekend instead. This is why its so easy for our government to get away with it.

Honestly, I plan on moving out of this state in about five years. To a nice mountainous region on several, somewhat isolated acres. Not to burry my head, but simply enjoy this great earth the Lord has given us.

reply to post by westcoast

Heres a pic of some of those storage tanks under construction.



I am so certain they built them the best they could back then. Now they are aged, bombarded with radiation and leaking. Scary thought what an earthquake could do. Even a minor one.

Do you take your fizzes in a trickle or by the bucket?

reply to post by intrptr


Isn't it just plain common sense that if you have radioactive material that never ( or many, many years to be denigrated) Why? would you create more without a simple plan to detoxify it?

Some of my sillier colleauges say "Just shoot it off into space" How does that crap come down on us then?

Nuclear energy is not "sustainable" - and I'm not even a liberal.

Look how many nuclear sites are on major rivers! It's almost like they planned to irradiate all of us.

Like I said, common sense?

Son of a $%*^ I just moved to portland, didn't even think to look into nuclear waste sites near by...

Where the hell are our representatives on this, they should be taken to task for not calling attention to this issue.

Not so hard to think that the government would do this. But this is pretty shocking. The fact that it went right under our noses makes me think that there are more secrets like this, perhaps more dangerous than this.

I just hope that now that the waste is leaking, I hope that the public will look more into things like this, our health just might depend on it.

Very good find OP. Gave you a star and flag.

The locals who work their need to collectively decide to just leave hand-in-hand and never return...it isn't worth the money to stay any longer.
That would make the news...

Thanks much for posting, as some of the information I didn't know yet am also happy ATS has been keeping up with the updates coming out of Hanford. I've mentioned before on here of meeting people who were ill from growing up near Hanford. That was a real eye opener when I moved up this way. Also, was after Fukushima , when radiation was being tested in the local milk of the Inland NW. Was sad to hear that people's first opinion on the radiation findings that it must be Hanford, as if just being so used to it.

Also, as asked above, there are more cases of radiation leaks in other places in the US. I grew up within 50 miles of an active power plant, growing up heard stories of the leak of radiation into our bodies.

The five-year baby teeth study, also known as the Tooth Fairy Project, found a 37% rise in the average levels of radioactive Strontium-90 (Sr-90) in southeast Florida baby teeth from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s.

When compared with baby teeth collected from 18 Florida counties, the highest levels of Sr-90 were found in the six southeast Florida counties closest to the Turkey Point and St. Lucie nuclear reactors: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.
source

reply to post by dreamingawake


Wow...have never heard of this type of study before. So far, I haven't found any info on studies done in Washington State...but I did find THIS:

By tracking 3,000 individuals who had participated in the tooth-collection project, the RHPR published results in a 2010 issue of the International Journal of Health Service that showed that the 12 children who later died of cancer before the age of 50 had levels of strontium 90 in their stored baby teeth that was twice the level of those who were still alive at 50.[3][4]

source


Now that is a study that needs to be expanded.

Just found this disturbing article about a bad leak at hanford discovered back in 2010:

Workers cleaning up the nation's most contaminated nuclear site have discovered an area of soil so radioactive it exceeds lethal limits tenfold, the U.S. Department of Energy announced Wednesday with its cleanup contractor.

The finding represents some of the worst contamination at south-central Washington's Hanford nuclear reservation and highlights the difficulty and danger in cleaning up a site where records about Cold War-era weapons production either weren't kept or were incomplete.

source

The building in question sits about a quarter-mile from the Columbia River, which is the largest waterway in the Pacific Northwest and creates the northern and eastern boundaries of the Hanford site.
French said the level of contamination was a surprise, though it had obviously been there some period of time.

...where records either weren't kept or were incomplete?????!!!!

So they don't even really know what is there?

This just keeps getting better....

Originally posted by Happy1
reply to post by intrptr

 

Isn't it just plain common sense that if you have radioactive material that never ( or many, many years to be denigrated) Why? would you create more without a simple plan to detoxify it?

Some of my sillier colleauges say "Just shoot it off into space" How does that crap come down on us then?

Nuclear energy is not "sustainable" - and I'm not even a liberal.

Look how many nuclear sites are on major rivers! It's almost like they planned to irradiate all of us.

Like I said, common sense?

Of course they are built on major rivers or waterways, they require huge volumes of water for cooling, you cant build one without a close large water resource, and usually it needs to be flowing or tidally influenced at least so you get cycling of the hot discharge water and have enough cool water nearby to keep the temperature down

I support nuclear power because despite all of the problems with it (including the problems that are kept secret) it's safer and cleaner for the environment than our other non green options like coal and gas.

Stories like this make it really tough to maintain that position, but it's still the truth, however it's much more marginal once you include all the cancers the radiation causes (coal causes quite a few too though, so...)

Really, it just highlights how badly we need alternative sources like wind, solar, geothermal (we have MASSIVE geothermal reserves in the US), and the rest. I'm an all of the above energy person, only because we actually need all of it right now. The focus should be on replacing existing power generation with green energy though, and that means over time our nuclear facilities have got to go.

When it comes to releasing radiation to test the effects on the populace though. That's absolutely sickening. What makes it even worse is the documents were held classified until those responsible were dead so that there can never be justice.

Great piece, very well done. S&F for you. Can't wait to get off work and add my 2 cents worth more tonight. Its just ridiculous to think our government would basically release radioactive materials just to see what happened on their own citizens. Just disgusting.

Originally posted by westcoast
And then there is this:

Preparing Hanford For A Major Earthquake

Of course, shifting knowledge about the Yakima Fold and Thrust belt doesn't just have direct implications for the Columbia Generating Station. As separate as the Columbia Generating Station and the Hanford Site may be from a management and oversight standpoint, the fact remains that the two are inextricably linked, if for no other reason but geography.

What happens, for example, if the World War II era “Canyon" buildings where uranium was processed collapse? What if the K-basins that store fuel from Hanford's old N-Reactor leak? What if a radioactive release at Hanford hampers responders' ability to address a crisis at the Columbia Generating Station?

A lot of peple don't realize there have been quake swarms happening now in the hanford area for several years. So in addition to the leaking tanks...what would a mag 3 or 4 quake have on these already weakened tanks?

oh my I've never even thought of this it'd be like Fukushima but 25xs worse.

Originally posted by westcoast
reply to post by dreamingawake

 

Wow...have never heard of this type of study before. So far, I haven't found any info on studies done in Washington State...but I did find THIS:

By tracking 3,000 individuals who had participated in the tooth-collection project, the RHPR published results in a 2010 issue of the International Journal of Health Service that showed that the 12 children who later died of cancer before the age of 50 had levels of strontium 90 in their stored baby teeth that was twice the level of those who were still alive at 50.[3][4]

source


Now that is a study that needs to be expanded.

Yes indeed it does.
Quite possibly these leaks are more widespread than we can imagine.

Here's an update from today:

Bonus money trumps safety at Hanford, experts say

"Reporting leaks in high-level waste tanks has been frowned upon at this site for decades," said Bob Alvarez, a former presidential adviser on nuclear policy. “There’s this whole dynamic that is built up where people are totally discouraged from raising concerns, especially those that I call have a show-stopping nature to them, such as leaking high-level radioactive waste tanks.”

Continued at the Source: Article & Video
I posted here -www.abovetopsecret.com...
(sorry to double post ATS but this needs to be known!)