Before sending everyone on their way with a delicious scoop of Half Pint Ice Cream, we made them work for it! First, people had to learn about Hanford, second, take a survey, third, pick their top three Hanford issues, and then choose an ice cream flavor. Even kids joined in on the fun, learning a fact or two about Hanford before eagerly licking their ice cream cones, getting their faces painted by Marina, and kicking balls around in the grass.

Another aspect of the Ice Cream Social was an interactive “Speak Up!” Poster assembled by the Department of Ecology to gage interest on the different issues at Hanford. Valerie put on a show for the children, explaining poster terms like “High Level Waste Repositories” and “Government Accountability and Transparency” in a dramatic, theatrical fashion that kept the kids amazingly engaged. “Protecting the Columbia River” and “Long Term Stewardship/Institutional Controls” were the most important issues at Hanford, as voted by our attendees.

Talking with people one on one and learning about their interests and experiences with Hanford was constantly engaging. Some came with a great deal of prior knowledge and others were learning about Hanford for the first time. This aspect of the Ice Cream Social was especially interesting for me; having only interned at Hanford Challenge for a few weeks, the questions people asked consistently tested and expanded my own knowledge of the Hanford Site.

It seemed like everyone was enjoying themselves while lying in the sun, listening to Mike and Tom play live music, and eating ice cream. The crowd was mostly Seattleites but we also managed to garner national and international opinions from as far as India!

If you missed the event but are still interested in sharing your input on Hanford and related involvement opportunities, please take our survey so your voice is heard! Additional educational info is also available HERE.

Below are links to topics and materials that came up during the course of our conversations based loosely around the theme of courage and Hanford.

Books and Resources Referenced in Discussion:

Participants talked about Anthropology Professor, Holly Barker’s 2/24 talk on the Marshall Islands and her work there.  Some of her books were referenced.  Here they are:

• Bravo for the Marshallese: Regaining Control in a Post-Nuclear, Post-Colonial World Looks like there are two editions, this one is available for pre-order
• The Consequential Damages of Nuclear War: The Rongelap Report by Holly M. Barker and Barbara Rose Johnston
• Half-Lives & Half-Truths (Holly is a contributor)

The UW Bikini Island Bombing films can be found on YouTube:

• Part 1 of 2 Bikini: Radio-Biological Laboratory
• Part 2 of 2 Bikini: Radio-Biological Laboratory

We talked about the Documentary Film Arid Lands, filmed and produced by two Geography students about Hanford and the Tri-Cities.  It is difficult to find copies of the film unless you order from Sidelong’s site.  If people are interested I have a copy and can show it at my house sometime.

Kathleen Flenniken read poems from her new book Plume. Check out her YouTube videohere.

We referenced the film Atomic Café which apparently is the most-viewed documentary film in high-schools in the US.

We discussed Michele Gerber’s book On the Home Front: The Cold War Legacy of the Hanford Nuclear Site, an excellent resource on the history of Hanford.

We talked about the work of environmental scientist Marco Kaltofen identifying hot particles. You can listen to an interview with Marco here. You can see the slides from his presentation to the American Public Health Association here.

We also referenced a map looking at Hanford’s global connections.  Check out the “Hanford Reach” Interactive Map here.

Our first presentation was with students in OSU’s Master’s in Public Policy program. Hanford has many policy issues to consider, such as budget decisions, risk issues, tribal obligations, and natural resource damage assessments. For many of the students, this was their first introduction to Hanford, and they had a lot of good questions.

Our second presentation was sponsored by the university’s Student Sustainability Initiative. The evening event drew about 50 people to Gilfillan Auditorium on campus. We had a good mix of Hanford newcomers and others who obviously knew something about the history and the cleanup efforts.

Overall, people appreciated the opportunity to talk about Hanford issues and get the perspectives of both states involved in the cleanup. The groups also enjoyed the animated video, What’s in Hanford’s Backyard (see below), that was shown during both presentations. The video was created by students at Washington State University Tri-Cities through a project created by Ecology. One student also blogged about our visit, and included a plug for Inheriting Hanford.

Corvallis hasn’t traditionally been visited frequently by the agencies involved in Hanford cleanup. But there was genuine interest in both students and residents in what’s happening at the Site, and it’s a relationship we believe we can build on.