The 1986 anti-nuclear rally advertised on this poster was organized in response to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) proposal to use the Hanford facility in Washington state as the nation’s nuclear waste repository.

In the wake of the April 1986 Chernobyl disaster and recent news that Hanford was a finalist for housing America’s nuclear waste, public distrust of the DOE and nuclear energy were high. This rally was held outside the Seattle Federal Building while inside DOE officials listened to over 6 hours of comments in a public hearing concerning the environmental impact of Hanford. In November of 1986, passing with 82% of the vote, Washington Referendum Bill 40 required state officials to use all legal means available to oppose the selection of Hanford as a high-level nuclear waste repository. By 1989, Yucca Mountain, Nevada was selected as the waste repository and plans were put in place to clean up Hanford.

Caption information source: “1986 Voters & Candidates Pamphlet,” Washington Secretary of State: https://www.sos.wa.gov/elections/
Caption information source: “Governor Booth Gardner announces the Tri-Party Agreement to clean up toxic waste at the Hanford Reservation on February 27, 1989,” by Patrick Marshall, HistoryLink.org Essay 10707.