Aftrer World War II, Hanford continued to produce nuclear materials used in the Cold War.  There were nine different active reactors at Hanford and thousands of workers were needed to operate them. Although people thought they were taking safety precautions, many of these workers suffered radiation poisoning and became ill.  October 30, 2009 was desginated by the U.S. Senate as a National Day of Remembrance for the all the "patriot" workers who have maintained our nuclear facilities.