Award-winning writer Steve Olson presents a thrilling program on the Hanford Nuclear Site and its legacy of innovation and destruction.
At the center of every nuclear weapon in the United States is a small pit of radioactive material manufactured at a top-secret facility in Eastern Washington, a facility which today remains the most radiologically contaminated site in the Western hemisphere.
But Washington State’s role in the nuclear era ranges far beyond the construction, operation, and ongoing cleanup of the Hanford nuclear reservation. Today, Washington has two operating nuclear reactors, one of which provides us with ten percent of our electricity. Radioactive substances are used in our state to cure diseases, build airplanes, detect pollutants, and power smoke detectors. Further, Naval Base Kitsap has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons deployed anywhere in the country.
Drawing from history, science, and popular culture, author Steve Olson reveals the many influences of nuclear materials on Washington State, and the many ways in which our state has been a pioneer in the atomic age.
This is event is made possible by Humanities Washington.
About the author:
Steve Olson (he/him) is a writer who most recently authored?The Apocalypse Factory: Plutonium and the Making of the Atomic Age. His books have been nominated in several local and national book awards. Since 1979, he has been a consultant writer for the National Academy of Sciences, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, and other national scientific organizations.
Raised in Eastern Washington, Olson now lives in Seattle.
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We strive to make events welcoming for people of all abilities. To request accommodations, call the library at 509-444-5308.
AGE GROUP: | Adults |
EVENT TYPE: | Science, Math & Nature | Learning & Lectures | Book & Film Discussions |
Mon, Sep 16 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Tue, Sep 17 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Wed, Sep 18 | 9:00AM to 7:00PM |
Thu, Sep 19 | Closed |
Fri, Sep 20 | 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
Sat, Sep 21 | 10:00AM to 5:00PM |
Sun, Sep 22 | 12:00PM to 4:00PM |
COMPUTERS & TECHNOLOGY
66 public computer stations
MEETING & STUDY ROOMS
300 person capacity nxʷyxʷyetkʷ Hall (pronounced: inn-whi-whi-ettk, a Salish word meaning Life in the Water)
256 capacity combined event space on the 1st floor
34 person capacity maker studio
2 conference rooms
2 reservable co-working spaces in the Business Lab
5 study rooms
Media Studios – production studio, recording studio, and video studio
SERVICES
Friends of the Library used book store
New Leaf Café
Business Lab with Bloomberg Terminal & Coworking Space
Computer Lab (Faxing, copying, scanning, printing)
Inland Northwest Special Collections
KYRS Radio
Shimmer (public art) by John Rogers
River Rumpus Children’s Playspace
Serenity Room