The Hanford Nuclear Reservation Litigation, or the “Downwinders Case,” is one of the most controversial legal struggles in the history of atomic energy. It raised scores of environmental, scientific, civil rights, health, and legal questions. Environmental Arts and Humanities Director, Jacob Hamblin, was awarded a National Science Foundation grant with collaborator Linda Richards, Instructor of History at Oregon State University, to bring a historical perspective to the case. During the four-year grant (2017-2020) they will focus on two goals. First, they will develop an important research collection, the recently acquired Berger/Haber Hanford Nuclear Reservation Downwinders Case Collection, in collaboration with Special Collections and Archives Research Center (SCARC) of Oregon State University. Second, they will produce the first detailed historical studies of the dose reconstruction project, linking it to issues in the history of science, environmental history, and the broad field of “science and technology studies” (STS).

Visit the OSU Downwinders Project webpage for information about the project including upcoming workshops and calls for papers.