Date: Sun, 03 Nov 2002
From: Bill Kinsella
Subject: Comments on OMSI Hanford Exhibit
Fellow Hanford Watchers,
Last Wednesday, Paige and I attended the opening of the new Hanford
exhibit at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). Both of
us had been involved in a series of planning meetings as the exhibit
was being conceptualized and developed, and now that I've seen the
finished product I want to share a few comments.
The exhibit is modest in size, but they've managed to pack quite a bit
of information into a small space. I think its presence at OMSI will
have important benefits in raising public awareness about Hanford. As
we all know, the problems at Hanford don't get nearly enough media
attention outside the Tri-cities. This exhibit is scheduled for a
five-year lifetime at OMSI, and over those five years a great many
people will have a brief simulation of a visual and hands-on encounter
with Hanford. Those of us who have been there in person know that
there's no substitute for actually seeing the place, but this exhibit
provides a (very) modest step in that direction for people who,
otherwise, would never give Hanford a thought. That's a
consciousness-raising accomplishment that we can be pleased about.
Although the exhibit received sponsorship from Hanford contractors, its
planners did a good job striving for objectivity. Apart from the
acknowledgements on the title panel, specific references to the
contractors are minimal. Questions about how much of the tank waste
should be vitrified, when the cleanup will be completed, and "how clean
is clean" are sidestepped, and this is a reasonable strategy. To do
otherwise would have made the exhibit a lightning rod for controversy,
diluting the primary message that Hanford exists and must be cleaned
up. Addressing these questions would also have led to specific
statements about quantities, technologies, decisions yet to be made,
etc, that could easily become outdated during the lifetime of the
exhibit.
Speaking of lifetimes, I didn't know what title had been chosen for the
exhibit until I saw it, and I was intrigued when I saw that it's
"Hanford at the Half-Life." Part of me doesn't care for that
title, as
it suggests that since Hanford is now 60 years old all will be well
there in another 60 years. I doubt that this will be the case in a
literal sense. Unfortunately, some contamination will linger there for
millennia, decaying exponentially as the concept of "half life"
implies. But it IS very possible that the Hanford facility, as we now
know it, will be gone in 60 years. The site will remain, and we want
that site to be in the best condition that the laws of nature and the
limits of human effort allow. For this to be the outcome, we need all
the help we can get, and public awareness is a step toward getting that
help.
With these thoughts in mind, I'd like to express my appreciation to all
who helped make the OMSI exhibit possible.
Bill Kinsella