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Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory

NUCLEAR ENERGY

F

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Atoms for Peace

The Atoms for Peace

Initiative

Harnessing Peaceful Nuclear

Technology

1953, proposed creating a

system of international

cooperation to develop

peaceful nuclear technologies and share them with

countries around the world.

The proposal changed

thinking about nuclear

energy from a means of

destruction to a path for

improving quality of life

for people everywhere.

Implementing the

“Hopeful Alternative”

Eisenhower’s speech led to

concrete steps to create and

promote peaceful nuclear

technologies as the “hopeful

alternative” to atomic

warfare.

• The International Atomic

Energy Agency was

created to promote international cooperation on

nuclear issues.

• The Atomic Energy Act

was revised to allow

private industry develop

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.

A half century ago, President

Dwight Eisenhower challenged

world leaders to join him in

adapting the atom to the “arts

of peace.”

Fifty years ago,

President Dwight

Eisenhower laid out

a vision transforming the

atom from a threat to a

benefit for all mankind.

Eisenhower’s “Atoms for

Peace” speech to the

United Nations General

Assembly on December 8,
NUCLEAR ENERGY

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03-GA51120-01

civilian nuclear power

reactors.

• EURATOM was created to

develop peaceful nuclear

power in Europe.

• The United States promoted

the diffusion of nuclear

science and technology

through agreements with

dozens of countries, training

programs for scientists and

engineers, the donation of

technical libraries and

other initiatives.

By the mid-1960s, the U.S.

Atomic Energy Commission

was devoting more than half

of its budget to the “peaceful atom.”

Peaceful Nuclear

Technology in Practice

In the decades since

Eisenhower launched the

Atoms for Peace initiative,

nuclear technology has

become part of everyday

life, improving lives in

numerous ways:

• Energy. A usable amount

of electricity was first

generated by nuclear

energy at the National

Reactor Testing Station

(now the Idaho National

Engineering and Environmental Laboratory) in

1951. In 1955, Arco, Idaho

became the first U.S. town

powered by nuclear energy

– also from a nuclear

reactor at the National

Reactor Testing Station. In

the decades since then,

nuclear energy has proven

itself to be a clean, efficient

alternative to burning fossil

fuels. Today, nuclear

power generates 16 percent

of the world’s, and 20

percent of the United

States’ electricity without

emitting harmful greenhouse gases. An international research effort,

spearheaded in the U.S. by

the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental

Laboratory, is creating a

new generation of nuclear

technologies that will help

make an even bigger

contribution to meeting the

world’s energy needs.

• Medicine. Nuclear technology is vital for modern

medical diagnostics and

cancer treatments.

• Strengthening the

economy. Nuclear technology has dozens of industrial and agricultural

applications that help make

products better and the

economy stronger.

• Exploring the past.

Radioisotopes have

helped determine the ages

of everything from the

Dead Sea Scrolls to

ancient fossils.

• Exploring space. Nuclear

energy has taken spacecraft

to the outer reaches of the

solar system and beyond.

The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental

Laboratory and other facilities around the nation and

around the world continue to

research and develop new

ways to apply nuclear

technology to making

people’s lives better.

The INEEL is a U.S. Department of

Energy national laboratory operated

by Bechtel BWXT Idaho, LLC.

www.inel.gov

For More Information

Teri Ehresman

208-526-7785

ehr@inel.gov