Editing Hanford Site (section)

===Construction===
[[File:Hanford B reactor construction.jpg|thumb|right|[[B Reactor]] construction (1944)]]
Construction of the nuclear facilities proceeded rapidly. Before the end of the war in August 1945, the HEW built 554 buildings at Hanford, including three nuclear reactors (105{{nbh}}B, 105{{nbh}}D, and 105{{nbh}}F) and three plutonium processing plants (221{{nbh}}T, 221{{nbh}}B, and 221{{nbh}}U).{{sfn|Gerber|1992|p=6}} The project required {{convert|386|mi|km|0}} of roads, {{convert|158|mi|km|0}} of railway, and four electrical substations. The HEW used {{convert|780,000|yd3}} of concrete and {{convert|40,000|ST}} of structural steel.{{sfn|Gerber|1992|pp=35–36}}

Construction on B Reactor commenced in August 1943 and was completed on September 13, 1944. The reactor went [[Critical mass|critical]] in late September and, after overcoming [[neutron poison]]ing, produced its first plutonium on November 6, 1944.{{sfn|Marceau|Harvey|Stapp|Cannon|2002|pp=1.22–1.27}} The reactors were [[Nuclear graphite|graphite]] moderated and water cooled. They consisted of a {{convert|28|by|36|ft|sp=us|adj=on}}, {{convert|1200|ST|t|adj=on}} graphite cylinder lying on its side, penetrated horizontally through its entire length by 2,004 aluminum tubes containing {{convert|200|ST}} of uranium slugs.{{sfn|Marceau|Harvey|Stapp|Cannon|2002|pp=1.15, 1.30}}{{sfn|Harvey|1990|p=11}} They had no moving parts; the only sounds were those of the water pumps.<ref>{{cite web |title=B Reactor |publisher= Hanford Site |url=https://www.hanford.gov/page.cfm/BReactor |access-date=October 30, 2022}}</ref> [[Cooling water]] was pumped through the tubes at the rate of {{convert|30,000|USgal/min|L/s}}.{{sfn|Marceau|Harvey|Stapp|Cannon|2002|pp=1.15, 1.30}} This was enough water for a city of a million people.{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947c|p=2.12}}{{sfn|Manhattan District|1947e|pp=5.63–5.65}}