A side view, cutaway diagram of the original plans for the Hot Fuel Examination Facility. (Source: NN, May 1969)
The American Nuclear Society recently announced the designation of three new nuclear historic landmarks: the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF), the Neely Nuclear Research Center, and the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant. Today’s article, the first in a three-part series, will focus on the historical significance of HFEF.
July 31, 2025, 12:06PMANS NewsGeoffrey Rothwell Left: noted economist Milton Friedman (left) presented the “best graduate
student paper” prize from the Western Economics Association to Rothwell in 1984. Right: Rothwell in 2018, the year of his retirement.
When I was 10, in October 1963, my family moved to Richland, Wash., so that my father could work for Vitro-Hanford Engineering Services, later for Bechtel, on the design of the Fast Flux Test Facility. I was a “new” kid throughout my excellent education in the Richland School District. It was the mid-1960s, and I wanted to be a rocket scientist or aerospace engineer. I took all the math and science that Richland High School (RHS) had to offer. What struck me during our tour of Hanford’s N-reactor with my physics class was the loudness of the steam turbine room compared to the hydro turbine rooms in the dams along the Columbia River. I am now establishing a residence on Columbia Point Drive in Richland.
