Atomic Power Safety: The Case of the Power Reactor Development Company Fast Breeder, 1955-1956

Abstract

Controversy over the safety of atomic power, dramatized by demonstrations at reactor sites; by countless articles, editorials, and speeches; by the popular film The China Syndrome; and, above all, by the accident at Three Mile Island, has made atomic energy a national issue. Polemical arguments are many, but few writers have devoted much attention to the early history of America's atomic policies or placed those policies in the context of their times. Current debate stems from the 1950s, when the government first opened atomic power to development by private enterprise. Under the 1954 Atomic Energy Act, the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) acquired a dual role: promoting private-sector electric power generation by atomic reactors, and licensing and regulating those plants to protect the public health and safety. When this duality was established, it appeared necessary because of limited technical knowledge and qualified personnel. But issuance by the AEC of a construction permit for the Power Reactor Development Company's fast breeder power reactor soon embroiled the agency in a controversy that underscored the difficulties of promoting privately owned power reactors while at the same time assuring adequate health and safety protection to the public. The episode focused public attention on the agency's licensing process for atomic power plants, particularly on the manner in which the AEC resolved safety questions. Equally important were the ramifications for the future development of the agency's regulatory system.1