Hanford tour seats claimed quickly

RICHLAND – All 2,554 seats on free public tours of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in 2012 were claimed Tuesday morning five hours and 15 minutes after registration opened.

That sets a record for the current system that opens registration for all seats for the year at once.

Last year it took eight hours and three minutes for all seats to be claimed.

Registration for the public tours opened at 12:01 a.m., with registration only available on the internet.

In the first five minutes half the seats were reserved, said Cameron Hardy, DOE spokesman.

By 12:45 a.m., more than 2,100 seats were taken.

Those still hoping to go on a tour this year could still grab a seat if they watch the internet registration site for cancellations.

When cancellations are received, open seats are posted without notice at www.hanford.gov.

The five-hour guided bus tours include a walking tour inside B Reactor, the world’s first full-scale nuclear reactor.

It also takes a look at the massive effort to clean up contamination left from World War II and Cold War production of weapons plutonium.