PASCO, Wash. – The
economy of the Tri-Cities region in south central Washington isn't as
closely linked with the Hanford Nuclear Reservation as it was in the
1970s. That's the bottom line of a new study by the Pacific Northwest
National Laboratory. In fact, less than 8 percent of local jobs in the
area were with Hanford prime contractors last year. Correspondent Anna
King explains.
Billions of federal dollars pour into the effort to
clean up nuclear waste at Hanford each year. Even more with last year's
federal stimulus package. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
economist Michael Scott says Hanford is important, but the region isn't
all about the site anymore. Scott's study shows total employment in
Benton and Franklin counties has increased by a third since 1994. He
says many of the new jobs are in health care, food processing and
scientific work.
Michael Scott: “Seattle caught cold, caught
pneumonia when Boeing went down in the late 60s early 70s, they
attempted to diversify and did, they were lucky to snag Microsoft. They
reinvented themselves. On a much smaller scale the same sort of thing
is going on here.”
[Scott says the Tri-Cities still has work to
do to diversify over the next 40 years, when thousands of Hanford jobs
could disappear.] Scott's economic study was prompted by several
businesses deciding not to locate in the Tri-Cities. They thought the
area's economy was too closely coupled to Hanford.
I'm Anna King in Pasco.
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Copyright 2010 Northwest News Network
See the complete study from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
