There has been plenty of buzz over Congress’ recent decision to create a Manhattan Project National Historical Park at sites in Los Alamos, NM, Oak Ridge, TN, and Hanford, WA. But what exactly led to the creation of the park, how long did it take, and why did Congress decide to preserve these sites now?
You can hear answers to these questions and much more in a podcast featured on the American Physical Society’s PhysicsCentral blog. Host Meg Rosenburg discusses the establishment of the Manhattan Project Park with Cindy Kelly, President of the Atomic Heritage Foundation, and Dr. Alex Wellerstein, Assistant Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Kelly and Wellerstein consider the historical significance of preserving Manhattan Project sites and discuss the next steps that the Department of Energy and the National Park Service will need take to produce an agreement by the end of the year. Both acknowledge the complexity of interpreting the controversial issues at hand, but agree that preserving these sites will allow the public to continue to have an open dialogue about what the Manhattan Project means today.