B Reactor Health Physics Exhibit: Health Physics

The Health Physics panel in the Health Physics Exhibit.

See exhibit panel for specific image credits.

Main Text
Text reads: “How are physics and health connected? If you’re confused, don’t worry; you’re supposed to be. With a name meant to disguise the purpose of the program, health physics is the science of protecting people and the environment from the potential harmful effects of radiation.”

Text reads: “At Hanford, Herbert Parker created administrative and engineered controls to protect workers from radiation exposure. Engineered Controls included shielding, locked access doors, and long handles for equipment. Administrative Controls such as documented work procedures, well-defined zones, and special badges to monitor worker exposure to radiation were also implemented. Look for the many examples of these controls as you walk around the B Reactor.”

At the top right, text continues: “In 1942, Herbert Parker, a prominent medical physicist working in Seattle, traveled to Chicago to work on the Manhattan Project at the Metallurgical Laboratory. Scientists there developed the world’s first nuclear reactor and laid the foundation for the plutonium production reactors at Hanford. In 1943, he was the principal organizer of the health physics program at Clinton Laboratories (now Oak Ridge) and was one of the first three people to bear the title “health physicist.” Parker arrived in eastern Washington in 1944 to develop a health physics program for Hanford.

“Parker established the Health Instruments Section and initiated a radiological monitoring and control program. His goal was to develop formal procedures and controls for the protection of workers, citizens, and the environment from excessive radiation exposure. His innovations led to a better understanding of the effects of radiation on human health, enhanced protections for workers, and the emergence of a field that continued to protect lives long after the Manhattan Project ended.”

A caption reads: “Health physicists at Hanford mandated that all workers had to do a body scan after exiting any radiologically contaminated area.”

Text reads: “Radiation need not be feared, but it must command your respect. Health physics, for your protection.”

Exhibit Panel Description
A title at the top left of the poster reads, “Health Physics.”

On the poster, five men in white overalls each hold different instruments used to detect different forms of radiation. At the left, an inset black-and-white photograph shows a picture of a middle-aged man with short hair, heavy wire-rim glasses wearing a suit. Text on the poster tells of Herbert Parker’s efforts to protect workers from radiation exposure.

A black-and-white photograph at the bottom left of the poster shows a man scanning the bottom of his shoes. In another photograph to the right, two workers in full protective gear scan for radiation.

At the bottom right, an inset illustration shows a worker standing near a metal slug behind a barrier with a warning sign that reads, “Radiation Danger. Keep Away.”

Visit This Exhibit Panel
In-person visitation of the B Reactor is only authorized on guided tours.