In 1943, the US government selected a location to serve as the primary plutonium production site for the Manhattan Project. This location, the Columbia Basin in Washington state, is on the homelands of the Wanapum Tribe, Nez Perce, the Confederated Tribes of the Yakama Nation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. These tribal nations were pushed off their lands and largely restricted from use of their traditional hunting and fishing grounds. The Hanford reactors generated exorbidant amounts of nuclear and other waste, many of which were improperly stored and spilled into the land, water, and groundwater. To this day, the Hanford is extremely contaminated. Remediation efforts are ongoing.

See also: Manhattan Project, Hanford Site

Nuclear Waste Storage, Yucca Mountain

Nuclear Weapons Testing, Nevada Test Site