Richland, Washington

Richland is a city in Benton County, Washington. Located at the juncture of the Yakima and Columbia Rivers, Richland has a current population of just over 48,000. Incorporated in 1910, Richland was a small agricultural community until the 1940s, when it became a residential area for the Hanford Engineering Works. After World War II, Richland continued to develop as a research center, notably in the field of nuclear energy. Among the city's current top employers is Battelle Memorial Institute, which operates the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, government contractor Fluor Hanford, Inc., Kadlec Medical Center Hospital, and food-processor ConAgra/Lamb Weston, Inc.

Richland was established in 1905 as a farm town, and for most of its first 40 years, saw little growth. In 1943, Richland and several surrounding towns were chosen by the U.S. Army as the location for a nuclear development facility under the Manhattan Project. Richland became a government city, housing engineers and administrators who worked at the newly-built Hanford Engineer Works. Due to the top secret classification of the project, access and communication in and out of Richland were severely restricted. By 1945, the population had increased from a few hundred residents to nearly 25,000. In 1946, under the auspices of the new Atomic Energy Commission, General Electric took over operations at the Hanford Works, expanding the site to include nine nuclear reactors, five processing plants and hundreds of laboratory and support buildings. Most of the reactors were decommissioned in the late 1960s, with the final reactor taken out of service in 1987. Several research and power generation facilities are still located at the site, and public tours are given by the Department of Energy. Environmental cleanup has been ongoing at the Hanford site since 1988.

Richland's unusual history of rapid construction and development during the early and mid-20th century place it in a high risk category for asbestos exposure. Workers exposed to asbestos-containing materials may be at risk for malignant mesothelioma, a cancer of the lungs. Additionally, mesothelioma lawyers may be able to give guidance if you were exposed to asbestos in Richland and then diagnosed with mesothelioma.

Jobsites in Richland where Asbestos Exposure Occurred

A number of jobsites in Richland, WA have been identified as harboring asbestos containing materials. These sites, at one point in their history, were known to have exposed a variety of tradesmen to asbestos. We will be documenting in more detail how asbestos exposure occurred at these sites in the future on this web site.