While Hanford offers a very successful and extensive tour program for members of the public, Site tours for private entities are also considered on a case-by-case basis. Private tours are only permitted for those groups whose work scope is such that it has a direct relationship to the cleanup currently taking place on the Site.
Hanford officials receive a number of requests for private tours each year and unfortunately not all tour requests can be accommodated. In cases where a tour cannot be given, Hanford officials are also available to be guest speakers or lecturers for groups who are interested in the cleanup work but could not tour the Site itself.In considering a tour, remember that the Hanford Site consists of more than 580 square miles and a majority of the facilities are located between thirty minutes and an hour from downtown Richland. There is a lot of drive time between cleanup projects, and many of the individual facilities require a good amount of time to tour. You should plan for a windshield, driving tour of Hanford tour to take a minimum of three hours, and substantially more if your group is interested in touring and hearing presentations at several projects during the same visit.
The Office of River Protection (DOE-ORP) is the agency overseeing the construction of Hanford’s Waste Treatment (Vitrification) Plant and is responsible for the storage, retrieval, treatment, and disposal of Hanford’s tank waste. For tours of only those facilities contact:
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Lori Gamache, DOE-ORP Communications, at 509.372.9130
The Richland Operations Office at Hanford (DOE-RL) has the lead in coordinating a majority of Site tours. DOE-RL can arrange for Site tours involving visits to projects which are overseen by RL and ORP. For Site-wide tours contact:
- Rich Buel, DOE-RL Communications, at 509.376.3375
