Senator Patty Murray is pressing legislation in the U.S. Senate that would make some historic sites at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington part of the national parks system.
The Democrat toured the historic site of Hanford High School Thursday. The building was part of the town that was forcibly vacated to make way for the secretive Manhattan Project during World War II. Now, the remains of the building sit amid the brush near the Columbia River.
Murray says she wants these sites preserved and available for public visits along with the more famous “B” Reactor. “We have a chance now to preserve some areas far into the future. It’s an opportunity we can’t miss.”
Murray says the Manhattan Project parks bill has passed out of Senate committee and she hopes it will go before the full Senate soon. After that, the bill would still need to mesh with a similar House bill.
