Fast Flux Test Facility Hanford, Washington

George Hinman was interviewed by Clark Hansen of the Oregon Historical Society as part of the Columbia River Dissenter Series, an oral history collection commissioned by the Center for Columbia River History. In this transcribed and edited excerpt (pp. 26-38) of Dr. Hinman’s interview, he reflects on a variety of topics dealing with his first-hand observations of the nuclear waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington during the late 1980s and 1990s. An unabridged version of this transcript can be viewed at the Research Library of the Oregon Historical Society (OrHist 2736) or at the website of the Center for Columbia River History.

George Hinman was born in 1927. In 1952, he received a Doctor of Science degree in Physics from Carnegie Melon University and taught physics at the Carnegie Institute of Technology until 1963. In 1969, Hinman came to Washington State University as the director of the Nuclear Radiation Center and was on the faculty of the Physics Department. In the 1970s, he became involved in environmental and energy issues and joined the Energy Policy Council to forecast energy consumption in the Pacific Northwest. Hinman’s forecasting showed that the growth rate for energy consumption in the region was much slower than had previously been estimated. His reports led WPPSS (Washington Public Power Supply System) to review the need for the proposed nuclear power plants. In 1980, WPPSS cancelled power plants 1 and 3 and in 1981, plants 4 and 5 were terminated.

Further Reading:
Sanger, S. L. with Robert W. Mull. Hanford and the Bomb: An Oral History of World War II. Seattle, Wash., 1989.

Carlisle, Rodney P. and Joan M. Zenzen. Supplying the Nuclear Arsenal: American Production Reactors, 1942–1992.  Baltimore, Md., 1996.

Gerber, Michele Stenehjem. On the Home Front: The Cold War Legacy of the  Hanford Nuclear Site. Lincoln, Neb., 1992.

Written by Joshua Binus, © Oregon Historical Society, 2003