Theodore Rockwell: Creating the New World
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“This is a wonderful account of the complex experiences of a thoroughly dedicated nuclear engineer. He relates his story with a freshness that brings back many memories to those of us who were also engaged in the enterprise in our own way. His saga makes it seem as though it had all happened yesterday.” DR. FREDERICK SEITZ Past President, National Academy of Sciences “Ted Rockwell has summed up more than a half-century of personal experiences as a pioneer in the nuclear age. His observations are poignant lenses on the key people and events that kindled and then nurtured the nuclear genies of electrical power, nuclear medicine, weapons, and radioisotopes in research and industry. His book is an important gift to this and coming generations.” Dr. JOHN H. GIBBONS Assistant to the President for Science & Technology (1993-98) Director, Congressional Office of Technology Assessment (1980-93) “A very important, well-written, and easily read book. Ted Rockwell’s part in the development of atomic energy began during the Manhattan project and continues to the present day. With this background he sharply challenges many assumptions that restrict the development of nuclear power and the beneficial uses of radiation.” Dr. FRANK DUNCAN U.S. Atomic Energy Commission historian “In the last few years, unnoticed yet significant developments in nuclear technology have begun to dispel public disapprobation of all things nuclear. Ted Rockwell is a knowledgeable, articulate communicator with the courage born of a lifetime of successful nuclear achievement, practical as well as theoretical. His book Creating the New World may well be a critical element in further enlightening our fellow citizens to the important and many benefits of nuclear science and technology.” Dr. KENNETH C. ROGERS U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner (1987–1997) President Emeritus, Stevens Institute of Technology Fellow, AAAS and of American Nuclear Society OTHER BOOKS BY THEODORE ROCKWELL The Reactor Shielding Design Manual (editor). Published separately in 1956 by U.S. Government Printing Office, McGraw-Hill, and Van Nostrand. Widely republished, translated and excerpted abroad. Still used as text. The Shippingport Pressurized Water Reactor (co-author). Part of U.S. contribution to 1958 Geneva Conference on Atomic Energy. Published by Addison-Wesley. Cited by American Library Association as “one of the best technical books of 1958.” Arms Control Agreements: Designs for Verification (co-author), Johns Hopkins Press (1968), used in connection with US-USSR talks at the White House. The Rickover Effect: How One Man Made a Difference, Naval Institute Press (1992); Chinese language edition (1994); John Wiley paperback (1995) republished by the Authors Guild through iUniverse, Inc., 2003. Excerpted in Reader’s Digest, domestic and foreign editions. Vice Versa: Three One-Act Plays, professionally performed as a staged reading by Source Theater, Washington, DC (1990). Some Articles by Theodore Rockwell “Frontier Life Among the Atom Splitters,” Saturday Evening Post, Dec 1, 1945. “Bred For Fury,” True, July 1946. (First color stroboflash photos of fighting cocks in action). “Water Chemistry of Pressurized Water Reactors” (co-author). Presented at First International Conference on Atomic Energy (1955); published by United Nations and by Pergamon Press. “Heresy, Excommunication, and Other Weeds in the Garden of Science.” New Realities, Dec 1981. “Report of Panel on Science and Unexplained Phenomena,” American Society for Information Science, U.S. Bicentennial Conference, Apr. 12-14, 1976. “Irrational Rationalists,” (Senior author). Jour. Amer. Soc. Psychical Research, 72, 23-34, (Jan 1978). Reprinted in The Battlefield of Psi (Japanese language anthology, 1987). “Admiral H.G. Rickover’s Impact on Nuclear Power.” Invited opening paper, Chairman’s Special Session, presented Nov 16, 1992 at the Joint International Conference of the American Nuclear Society and the European Nuclear Society, commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Birth of Nuclear Power. Creating the New World STORIES & IMAGES FROM THE DAWN OF THE ATOMIC AGE Theodore Rockwell FOREWORD BY GLENN SEABORG, DISCOVERER OF PLUTONIUM 1st Books Library Bloomington, Indiana Second Edition © 2002, 2003 First Edition published October 2002. Second Edition November 2003 Copyright and LoC Info (placeholder) PROVIDED BY PUBLISHER CONTENTS Foreword by the late Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg..................................................IX Preface............................................................................................................XI Acknowledgments .......................................................................................XIII 1. Nuclear Genesis.......................................................................................... 1 Facing the Beast…“Oak Ridge Attacks Japanese”…The Threat and the Promise How It Came About…First Glimpses of the Secret City The Frontier…Life Inside the Fence 2. The Manhattan Project Mystique ............................................................. 23 The Prophesy…Town Planning…African-Americans at Oak Ridge The Great Silver Caper…The Y-12 Process…Chemistry and Chemical Engineering Post-War Oak Ridge…Post-War Lifestyle…Transferring to the Lab A Look Back…Science vs. Engineering 3. Getting the Atom Away from the Army.................................................... 55 The Two-Edged Atomic Sword…The Quixotic Lobbyists…Meanwhile at X-10 Trying to Convey the Message…The Snowball Grows…The League of Frightened Men Earlier Efforts…We Post Our Theses…Inspection and Detection We Win One…Trying to Reach the Russians…Shifting Into Educational Mode 4. Fighting the Red Hunters ......................................................................... 79 The Un-American Activities Committee…“They Call it Security” “They’ve Taken My Badge”…J. Parnell Thomas Gets His…Getting Beyond the Bomb 5. From Science to Technology ................................................................... 87 The Difference Between Science and Engineering…Rickover and His Team Return to Washington…The Oak Ridge Radiation Shielding Conference Life With Rickover…The Role of Paperwork…Formalizing Procedures…Graphing Numerical Information…Review and Evaluation By Outsiders…Rickover the Enigma 6. Radiation, People, and the Good Earth..................................................111 Radiation: The New Wrinkle…Powers of Ten…Precision and Accuracy…Radiation Standards…Metric Units…Genetic Damage…"Fouling Our Nest" VI Contents Fear of Radiation…Anti-Nuclear Hysteria…Dealing With the "Anti-Nukes"…Lack of Public Understanding…"Has Radiation Protection Become a Health Hazard?…Applying the Principles…Designing the Radiation Shield…The Shut Down Case…Getting from Dose to Dose Rate…From Concept to Design…Design Details…Shield Materials…The Reactor Shielding Design Manual…Developing a Theoretical Base…Completing the Design The Submarine in the Idaho Desert…Running the Shielding Tests …The Results 7. The Great LNT Scandal........................................................................... 151 The Effects of Radiation on People…The LNT Model…No Hiding Place Down Here…Trying to Minimize Your Radiation Exposure…Hormesis: The Beneficial Effects of Radiation…Is Ionizing Radiation Essential to Life?… Radon: "The Silent Killer in Your Home"…How is Such a Discrepancy Maintained?…How Can Radiation Protection Policy Be Changed?…Energy Secretary Says: "We're Killing People"…Suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency…Why Is This Important? 8. Going Civilian—Declassification and Public Review of Safety........... 177 Suddenly Civilian… Creating Zirconium and Hafnium Industries…Procurement of Equipment…Going Public…Reviewing Civilian Reactor Plants for Safety Public Participation in Nuclear Power…Living with Regulation…Breaking the Vicious Circle…The Voice of the People…The Public vs. the Expert Facts…Opinions…Judgments…"Whose Plant Is This?"…Starting MPR 9. Setting Up Procedures to Evaluate Public Safety—from Scratch ...... 203 The Safeguards Committee…Bringing in the U.S. Public Health Service The Nature of Safety…Some Regulatory Nightmares…Gray-Zone Decisions The Reactor Plant Design Process…Providing Safety in the Next Generation Power Plants…Operator Error vs. Design Deficiency…The Role of Economics and Politics The Profession of Risk Evaluation…Truth vs. Reality…Risks from Nuclear Power The Rasmussen Report…Handling Radioactive Wastes…Radioactivity…Fuel Elements and Fission Product Waste…The Proliferation Problem…The Effects of Not Recycling Fuel…The Myth of Nuclear Uniqueness…Risks from Alternative Energy Sources Putting a Dollar Value on Human Life…"Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics" Averages…Probabilities…The Constant-Sum Game…Chernobyl The Facts…Hiroshima…Nuclear Terrorism…Some Final Thoughts 10. Learning from Three Mile Island.......................................................... 249 The Humbling Experience…"The Island"…"Don't Let 'er Go Solid…"Shut Off the Coolant Pumps"…TMI Calls a Site Emergency…Outside Officials are Brought In The Media Enter the Scene…Conflicting Evacuation Advice…The Potassium Iodide Caper and the Explosion Hazard that Wasn’t…The Seriousness of the Accident Findings and Recommendations…Changes Since 1979…The Industry Response Contents VII Views of a Political Science Professor…Changes at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission…Do These Changes Solve the Problem?…Is Nuclear Power Too Dangerous for Humans? …The Bottom Line…The Data from Karlsruhe The Most Important Fact About Nuclear