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Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory

NUCLEAR ENERGY

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Atoms for Peace

A Center of Peaceful

Nuclear Technology Development

in the high desert east of

Idaho Falls. The facility’s

mission from the very

beginning was to research

and develop peaceful nuclear

energy. INEEL was once the

site of the world’s largest

concentration of nuclear

reactors. Fifty-two test

reactors – most of them first

of a kind – were designed

and built at the site. Three

are still operating today.

The U.S. nuclear power

industry and the nuclear

Navy each had their genesis at INEEL. The prototype nuclear propulsion

plant for the USS Nautilus,

the first U.S. nuclear

submarine, was developed

at INEEL, and for years,

many of the naval personnel who went on to command and operate nuclear

The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory is a science-based, applied engineering national

laboratory dedicated to supporting the U.S. Department

of Energy’s missions in energy security, national security,

environment and science.

The National Reactor

Testing Station –

today’s Idaho National Engineering and

Environmental Laboratory

(INEEL) – was established

in 1949 on the site of a

former naval gunnery range

The Idaho National Engineering and

Environmental Laboratory: A Pioneer of Peaceful

Nuclear Technology
NUCLEAR ENERGY

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submarines and surface

ships trained at the site.

In 1951, INEEL achieved

one of the most significant

scientific accomplishments

of the 20th century. The

site’s Experimental Breeder

Reactor No. 1 produced the

world’s first usable quantity

of electricity generated

using nuclear fission –

enough to light the reactor

building itself.

The site achieved another

milestone in 1955 when its

Borax-III reactor became

the first nuclear reactor to

power a U.S. town: Arco,

Idaho, population 1,350.

Since the inception of

peaceful nuclear energy,

INEEL has been at the

forefront of nuclear safety.

Beginning in 1952, the

Materials Testing Reactor

tested materials’ performance

in intense radiation environments. Research conducted

at the MTR influenced the

design of every U.S. reactor.

INEEL also pioneered what

have become the international standards for nuclear

operating and safety

procedures.

Advancing Today’s

Applications of the

“Peaceful Atom”

INEEL is supporting peaceful

uses of nuclear technology in

a number of program areas:

• Energy – INEEL is at the

forefront of new nuclear

reactor design and development. In 2002, U.S.

Secretary of Energy

Spencer Abraham declared

that “INEEL will be the

epicenter of our efforts to

expand nuclear energy as a

reliable, affordable and

clean energy source for

our nation’s future.”

• Environmental Management – INEEL helps

manage spent nuclear fuel

and radioactive waste, and

develops new technologies

and processes to make

storing these materials safer.

• Nonproliferation and

National Security –

INEEL researches, develops and deploys technologies to improve homeland

security, detect weapons of

mass destruction and

advance nuclear nonproliferation.

• Science – INEEL conducts

research and development

in nuclear and radiological

sciences, and produces

important medical, research and industrial

isotopes at its Advanced

Test Reactor.

Opening the Way for

Tomorrow’s Peaceful

Nuclear Technologies

INEEL is leading development in the U.S. of the next

generation of nuclear energy

systems. This “Generation

IV” reactor will provide

electricity and allow largescale, emissions-free production of hydrogen for

tomorrow’s automobiles.

INEEL is currently conducting research on several

nuclear energy systems as

part of an international effort

to see which best meets

Generation IV’s stringent

sustainability, economic,

safety, reliability and

nonproliferation goals.

For More Information

Teri Ehresman

208-526-7785

ehr@inel.gov

The INEEL is a U.S. Department of

Energy national laboratory operated

by Bechtel BWXT Idaho, LLC.

www.inel.gov