Sens. propose Manhattan Project Parks

Associated Press

Updated: Jun 15, 2012 8:51 AM

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Sen. Jeff Bingaman is sponsoring legislation to establish national historical parks in Los Alamos and the two other key sites where the atomic bomb was developed.

The legislation stems from the recommendations of a report from the National Park Service and the Department of Energy. The proposal would create the parks at Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Hanford, Wash.

The $2.2 billion Manhattan project operated from December 1942 until September 1945. At its peak it employed 130,000 workers, but was kept largely secret and out of public view.

Bingaman says that developing parks would help visitors better understand the significance of the sites.

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