Hanford Site Tours
Public Road Tours

The Department of Energy will host 48 public tours of the Hanford Site in 2008.  (Note:  The schedule allows for roof repairs at the B Reactor from May until July 30).

Online registration for all 48 tours will begin at 12:01 a.m. on March 17 by visiting the registration website at http://www5.hanford.gov/publictours/.

• April 2-3 (cut off date for changes/cancellations: 6:00 a.m., March 31)
• April 23-24 (cut off date for changes/cancellations: 6:00 a.m., April 21)
• April 29-30 (cut off date for changes/cancellations: 6:00 a.m., April 25)
• July 30-31 (cut off date for changes/cancellations: 6:00 a.m., July 28)
• Aug. 20-21 (cut off date for changes/cancellations: 6:00 a.m., Aug. 18)
• Aug. 27-28 (cut off date for changes/cancellations: 6:00 a.m., Aug. 25)
• Sept. 2-3 (cut off date for changes/cancellations: 6:00 a.m., Aug. 28)
• Sept. 24-25 (cut off date for changes/cancellations: 6:00 a.m., Sept. 22)

Tour times are 7:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. each day.  Each tour lasts approximately 5 hours.

News Media ONLY :  contact Rich Buel, Department of Energy Public Affairs, at (509) 376-3375 or Richard_D_Buel@rl.gov to sign up for the public tours, rather than reserving seats through the web registration process (photography in accordance with security requirements is arranged for media on certain tours).

All tours begin and end at the Volpentest HAMMER Training & Education Center (HAMMER), located at 2890 Horn Rapids Road, Richland, Washington. The tours are free of charge and last approximately five hours.  Because of the time-span of the tours, tour participants are encouraged to bring snacks and non-alcoholic drinks on the tour.  A cafeteria is located at HAMMER with food and drinks available for purchase.

All tour slots are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Participants are allowed to request up to two tour slots for their party.  Please be prepared at the time of registration to provide full names, as stated on photo identification, for each of the tour members. Due to the overwhelming response for participation in the Hanford Site Public Tours we ask that tour participants only register for one tour each calendar year.

We are unable to maintain a waiting list once all tour slots have been filled. However, interested participants should check back periodically as registered tour participants may cancel and slots may become available at any time until the registration cutoff time/date.

Those visiting the Hanford Site will board busses and be driven from HAMMER through the Hanford Site on a route that is designed to follow the process that was used to produce plutonium for the nation's defense and explain current cleanup efforts.

• Hanford's 300 Area, just north of Richland, where fuel was manufactured for irradiation in Hanford's reactors
• Original Hanford and White Bluffs town sites
• Production reactors along the Columbia River, known as Hanford's 100 Area, where nuclear fuel was irradiated. Activities in that area today are primarily focused on 'cocooning' former reactors and cleaning up waste sites.  This portion of the visit will include a walking tour of B reactor, the world's first full-scale nuclear reactor.
• Hanford's Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF), where low-level radioactive, hazardous and mixed wastes are disposed.  Tour participants will have the opportunity to view disposal operations at the 10-million-ton-capacity facility (weather permitting).
• Hanford's central plateau, or 200 Areas, where irradiated nuclear fuel was processed to recover plutonium. This is where most of the waste that resulted from processing is located, along with a number of current activities to clean up the waste.  This portion of the tour also will include a briefing at one of the waste burial grounds.
• The Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) construction site where millions of gallons of tank waste will be immobilized in glass using a technology called vitrification.  This portion of the visit will include a driving tour through the Waste Treatment Plant construction site.  (Note:  The WTP project is an active construction site.  Please be aware that work activities could limit access to the WTP site.  In those cases, a WTP tour guide will provide an overview presentation on the bus of the current work activities on the project).

The tour will include a security check before entering the Hanford site. Tour participants must be U.S. citizens who are at least 18 years old, have valid photo identification (required on the day of the tour), and provide their full name (as stated on their photo identification) and birth date. Participants with current DOE standard badges MUST wear their badges on the day of their scheduled tour.

Public Road Tour Requirements

Tour Coordinator	Karen Welsh, Fluor Hanford, Inc. (509) 376-2151 or email Karen_M_Welsh@rl.gov
Registration	Registration for the 2008 tours begins on March 17 at 12:01 a.m.  Visitors will be registered on a first-come, first-served basis only through the online web registration system.
Age	At least 18 years of age to participate.
Identification	Photo driver's license, military identification or passport.
Citizenship	Must be a U.S. citizen.
Clothing	Appropriate clothing for an industrial environment is required - knee-length shorts or “capris” are acceptable, but long pants are recommended.  No sleeveless shirts.  Closed-toed shoes are mandatory - no open shoes (toes or back) - no sandals, thongs, or flip-flops.  Anyone dressed inappropriately will not be allowed on the tour.
Prohibited Articles	See prohibited articles list.
Clearance/Badges	Visitor badges required.  Tour Coordinator will arrange for appropriate badging of visitors.  If you are an authorized holder of a Hanford Site badge, you must bring your badge the day of your scheduled tour.

Note:  Public tours are subject to immediate cancellation any time the Security Condition (SECON) level is raised above 3, or in the event of other security or safety concerns.  Additionally, in the unlikely event of an emergency or other unforeseeable situation, the tour bus may be required to remain on the Hanford Site for longer than scheduled.  Tour participants should be prepared for such delays.