Test Facility (PTE),to tes fucis and materials which would be used in breeder reactors, at Hanford. Construction of the FFTP began in 1970 ari tok pvelveyears to complete. The AEC alse located other projects there, such as the Hanford Containment Systems Experiment, designed to imvestigaie aspects ofthe selety of light water reactors. in 1975 theAEC wes sholished and the Richland Cperations Olfice became a part ofthe Energy Research and Development Administration (RDA). Uader ERIDA the operations office employed 303 personnel to oversee 2272 contrictor employees engaged in plutonium production activities, The annual budget tor this came to shout $71 million. In 1977, however,ERDA was abolished and the Richland Opersions Office became a part of the Department of Eneray. In 1987, several months after the Chernoby! miciear reactor accident, the Mew Production Reactor was shut dawn. The reactor wes sunilar in design to the Chernobyl reactor and sefety concerns led to the shutdown. Aterward, most of the site's resources were devoted to managine the environmental legacy left by decades of plutonium production. The Richland Operations Cifice’s job was transformed from overseeing plutonium production to managing environmental clean-up and waste products.. if also oversees the research, develogment, and commercialzation of technologies for waste management, clean-up, and exviroumental restoration. The potential health consequences associated wath the operation of the complex was a serious concern among many who live, or have lived, near the site. As a result, Hanford i currently mreolved in several health relatedstudies and the operations office manages DC's involvement with these activities. Richland Operations Office Inactive Records: The operations office retains custody of records created as long age os the World War Tf Manhattan Prowect. This means thet it has custody offederal records froma munber of operations offices organizations which fiactioned under the MED AECERDA or DOE. Due to the AEC Hanford diversification program, 2 also hes custody of records from several different contractor organizations, among them DuPor. General Electric, and the Hanlord Eewironmental Health Foundation. The operations office generally controls mactive records on the records bow level. Thus, most finding gids to Richland Operatians Office records consist of inventories ofthe contents of ondividual boxes of recards. The ieventories appear on Records Transier Request forms which list the organization which created an individual box of records. The forms, however, do not indicate whether the boxes were parts of larger groups ofrecords retired ar the same time. Originally many ofthe recards about site activities were claswfied. The Richland Operations Office has now declassified many of ws older documents in response to Htigation and to meet other seeds. It has placed many of these documents in ns public reading room: thus much of the contents of the boxes listed on the attached Records Transfer Requeat forms may be available m the Richland qublic reading room. As soon as the documents are available, they will be linked ta the Hanford Home Page at bite/sewrw hanford govidoe/readingbir.