By this time, the AEC had met all Depertment of Defense requirements for miclear weapons production and had created « luge arsensl of nuclear weapons. Accordingly, President Lyndan B. Johnson deckled to reduce suclear materials production and presented 0 as a disarmament measure in his 1964 State ofthe Union address, As aresult, over the next seven years, the AEC shat down all but one ofthe Haniord production resctors. Because the Hanford area was a one industry town, the AEC also tocksteps to keep the ares economically vieble by aiming to bring new unlustry and contractors inte the area. It grouped these efforis inte its Henford diversification program. In 1964 General Electric decided to withdraw from Hanford and the SEC committed to use multinie conractors at the site. ° in the rst major move of ns Hanford diversification program, the AEC selected Battelle Memorial Institute of Columbus, Ohio to take over operstion of the Hanford Laboratories, which were now renamed the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PMLAt is inception PML had « staff of about 1,800 and s budget ofanproximately £20 milion. Under Battelle management the laboratory began to grow. From a single gray barracks ix downtowns Richland ic 1965, PIL. in ten yeers, hal grown to include new udidings and equipment valued at $50 million. For example, in 1967 PN beganoperation ofa iO square mile Arid Lands Eoolowy Reserve fer the AEC. lt established 4 Marie Research Laboratory on: Washington's Clympic Peninsule and o research center near the University ofWashington's Seattle campus. ly built 2 Richland Research Complex which mobuled « Research Operations Building, 2 Physical Sciences Laborstory, 2 300 seat auditoriam, 2 Mathematics Building, an Enginesring Development Laboratory, and 2 Life Sciences Laboratory. in 1967 an observatory with the largest optical telescope in the Northwest was established neer Richland. The ARC, meanwhile, had decided to balld the Fast Fhax Test Facility (FFTE at Richland as part of tts Hanford diversification efforts. The FFTF was an advanced nuclear reactor which would be used to test fuels and materigis which could be used in advanced nuclear breeder reactors. PMI. was given the iob of designing the FFTF and selecting engineering and construction firms to banld i. Ag the same time PNL wes diversifving its research programs. The laborstery expanded is efforts into additional blamedicel, nomuciesr energy, environmental, national security, and human alfuirs research. in 1969 PN was chosen by the National Aeronautics amd Space Administrationto analyse hinar samples collected by the Apollo programand mn 1972 PMLreceived hinar samples trom the Apollo 1S and 17 space missions for research. In 187% the laboratory won 2prestigious award for developing 3 poraus substance that coukd develop a “ining union” between bone and prosthetic devices by bone ingrowth. iy 1975 PNL's work force totgled about 1142 and its annusl operating budget was a ite over $25 million, By thus time the ARC had heen replaced by the Energy Research and Development Adminstration (ERDA) Within two years BRDA hed been replaced by the Depertment of Energy (DOE). PNL became Grst an ERIDA facility im 1975 and then a DOE facility in 1977)