Confronting the past through the present: Production era professionals' interpretations of the Hanford Site, 1943-1993

The end of the Cold War has initiated a re-examination of the consequences of the nuclear age. This thesis examines the historical role of the Hanford Site from the perspectives of nuclear industry professionals who arrived for employment during the first ten years of production operations (1943-1953) and stayed to live in the locality. Specifically, practical strategies developed for work in a context of institutionalized secrecy and the rhetorical strategies employed to negotiate contemporary criticism, are explored by means of career-histories. In particular, the thesis examines the confluence of past and present in terms of the meanings attached to the transitions from plutonium production operations to the 'environmental cleanup' of the facility.;The thesis is based upon six months of fieldwork in towns adjacent to the Hanford Site, and examines these processes through tape-recorded interviews, participant-observation, and media accounts. It is argued that forms of occupational identity forged during World War II and the Cold War mediate contemporary understandings of the historical role of the Hanford Site for local nuclear industry professionals.;The ethnographic study of production oriented nuclear industry work-worlds was a casualty of the requirements of secrecy evidenced through World War II and the Cold War. Correspondingly, the conduct of work at these facilities through World War II and the Cold War often required oral as opposed to written forms of communication. Ethnography is well suited to examine such historical contexts and assess interpretations of past policies, procedures and operations through oral historical accounts. Further, this research carries with it a pressing relevance as eligible research participants reach old age and finally feel ready to tell their stories. However, the public re-evaluation of the consequences of activities at Hanford, such as the Manhattan Project, have contributed to a sense of stigma, and, as a result, nuclear industry professionals are increasingly reluctant to share their lives with 'outsiders'.