Atomic Energy Commission
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P I- d k4 f -- s TATE s -AT- 'OMIC ENERGY COMMISSION y OF THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION i BOX No. 'ATESGOVERNME :NT PRINTING OFFICE,WASHINGTON, D. C. -I Y L mTTER OF SUBMITTAL WASHINGTON,D. C. 29 July 1955. $as: we have the honor to submit herewith the Eighteenth Semi- Report of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, as OUed by the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. Muif RespectfdY3 UNITEDSTATES ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION, WILLARDF. LIBBY. THOMASE. MURRAY. JOHXVON NEUMANN. LEWISL. STRAUSS,Chairman. a nonorable The President of the Senate. % Honorable Tlie Speaker of the House of Representatives. iii CONTENTS Page P 1 5 23 23 24 26 27 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 35 40 44 45 46 47 50 51 53 55 61 63 71 76 77 77 79 83 91 - 91 92 92 94 99 100 101 104 VI CONTENTS APPENDIXES Organization and Principal Staff of U. S. Atomic Energy Comrnissio 1. n- I.~. 2. Membership of Committees - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ------____ 3.- 3 3. R.Iajor Research ..and Development Installstions Of the U. 8. A~~G~;.- Energy Commi;sion ______-_-_-------------------_ ----____ ----- 4. !:- Isotope Distribution Data, Oak Ridge, Tenn- - __ - - __ ----- --_____--_ , 5. Current AEC Unclassified Physical Research Contracts- - - __ ------___ ,;-*I 6. Publications of the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission- - - - - - - - - - -_--__ - ;a 7. A Report by the United States -4tomic Energy Commission on 15 Effects of High-Yield Nuclear Explosions- - - - - ______ - ______ ---__ 8. United States Firms and Organizations To Be Represented in &hibits 14- at Geneva Conference--- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ----_ :Y Commission - SUh4MARY ------- ------- e U. S. Atomic king large in the record of atomic enera development of the _------------- PJmonths has been the swift advance of the Atoms-for-Peace -------- ----__ psS,,, t6 the world. _---- --------- p@r the past 60 days of the period under report here, 27 other --------- ----- + Fitkin tmission on the entered into agreements for cooperation with the United __-------_____ ,&a developing the civil uses of atomic energy. To supply the ,@?5 nted in Exhibib - would eventually be required for research reactors under _----------___ fuel many agreements, the President authorized adding IO0 kilo- be@ (220 pounds) of uranium 235 to the original 100 kilograms *Tidein late 1954 for atoms-for-peace programs. This was an- *' ced bv the Chairman of the Commission in an address to the o@@ Press Club, New York, in late June. The President also @@ edarged the scope of the program in two statements. At the Asso- . d.td Press luncheon in New York City, April 25, the President droated construction of a nuclear-powered merchant ship and its gg in demonstration cruises about the world to portray the peaceful ,& of atomic energy. In May the Executive Branch placed before *eCongress requests for funds for the atomic-powered ship program. At Pennsylvania State University in mid-June, the President in a vecb proffered financial aid to other nations in the construction of *ear& reactors, and training and technological aid in the develop- ment of power reactors by friendly nations. Extensive preparations were made for the contributions of the Lnitd States to the International Conference on Peaceful Uses of .itomic Energy at Geneva in August. The conference originally was pfoposed by this Nation, and its management mas assumed by the cnited Kations last December as noted in the following chapter. Various training courses were inaugurated by the Atomic Energy Commission for technical men of other nations. Libraries of all the dassified technical material published by the Commission were iathorized for presentation to 23 other nations at their request. The word of major developments in the atoms-for-peace movement, as :: gathered momentum and gained wider participation is presented in 5e first section of this report. The other activities of the Atomic Energy Commission con- med at a growing rate and with increasing effectiveness. The pro- :% for developing civilian applications through the access of thc berican industrial and educational community to the accumulated aol\-ledge in this field took shape and moved forward on various -ibnts. 'tils @Port notes certain events that have occurred subsequent to the reporting period. 1 2 MAJOR ACTIVITIES Domestic production of uranium ore and collcentrates d first 6 months of 1955 reached record levels-making the uniteduri% tb, one of the world’s leading uranium producers-while producti‘ ta:,- from foreign sources continued to increase. Greatly aCc % exploration activity by private industry resulted in the &sCoPrrpeh:,, . potentially large deposits of uranium ore in presently Don - r’ PrOdupi..-- areas off the Colorado Plateau. Research and process derelopu,% studies on economic methods for recovery of uranium from its orr, continued. Increased availability of raw materials, along with the startup @’ new plant capacity, resulted new high levels the production in in “f special nuclear materials, at lower unit cost. All of the new gaseous diffusion facilities authorized 1Il- 19j.t except that at Portsmouth, Ohio, were completed and COntributi,: ; production. Construction at Portsmouth proceeded OD scheddk New facilities at the Hanford and Savannah River reactor sites b operation during this period. Design of additional feed matefia processing facilities at Fernald, Ohio, St. Louis, Mo., and paduce Ky., progressed satisfactorily, and construction at the three - began during March. LargeIy as a result of this progress in construction, capital inret ment in atomic energy plant facilities mas estimated to have react+ about $6.6 billion before depreciation reserves. A prominent event in the weapons research and development plpb gram was a successful test series (Operation TEAPOT) conrJ~c~g at the Nevada Test Site from February 18-hgay 15. The Fe& Civil Defense Administration conducted its “Operation Cue” connection with the 13th nuclear test of this series. This most comprehensive civil-defense exercise held in Nevada to dak Details of the exercise are given under “Civil Effects Experimeng (pp. 81-83). The Commission’s program of developing reactors for industria’ and military power and for naval and aircraft propulsion md* greater strides during the first 6 months of 1955 than in any earlie- half-year. During this period the AEC moved toward greate participation by industry in advancing the development of cornpetitire nuclear power. Toward this end, the Commission set up an eripandd program for making classified information available to indELTn established a classified schedule of prices and charges for rnafPbk furnished by the AEC, and prices for special nuclear materid Pm duced in power reactors. Four industrial proposals were receird for the power demonstration reactor program. The number. ti industrial participation groups was increased from 18 to 25, b&a thg’number of individual firms now in the program to 81. Ily-- JANUARY-JUNE 1 9 5 5 3 construction work is in progress at the Shippingport (Pa.) Jf'joiheNation's first civilian nuclear powerplant. This 60,000- deOf Ternion of the pressurized water reactor will be operated - &)ff&tt ir DuqueSne Light CO.of Pittsburgh. st nuclear-poFered submarine, the USS Xautilus, got under bTTbe fir power on January 17, while the second such sub- on Say, the USS Seawolf, was launched on July 21, at the Electric ~Bf@lpe?Ditision, General Dynamics Corp., Groton, Conn. A 100-hour Iutl poFl,er test of SIR Mark A, the land-based prototype of the engine i .(loed to propel the Seawolf, was successfully completed. Surplus from SIB Mark A will be channeled into a 10,000-kilowatt 5%-ti!! enerator installed and operated by the General Electric Co. tubhe g st to the Government. The resulting electrical output will be #: no by SCas a demonstration of the first commercial usage of ,to+pr&ced electricity. Desi,o and development work on the large ship reactor continued at ,be ~~ttisPlant by the Westinghouse Electric Corp. under AEC con- ' gact. The first phase of the Army's Package Power Reactor program completed, and the Aircraft Nuclear Propulsion program ac- ae5 with the promise of nuclear-powered flight considerably Tt' truction, capital inrest- j:ghtened. The physical research program continued to be the source of many ,imated to have reaciIpfj A the new ideas contributing to the Nation's progress in atomic >. UI University participation in this program is emphasized in il and development prch oergy* 2 TEAPOT) conducted .& report. The leading role of academic institutions in the training -May 15. The Fedcrd scientists is cited, and some major university contributions in phys- s "Operation Cue" ir, *.-..+ &emistry, and metallurgy are described. A few outstanding re- accomplishments of the past 6 months at Commission labora- is series. This ins the es& eld in Nevada to dntt. ;17& are outlined here, such as the discovery of element 101 (Mendel- -2 Effects Experiments" 5-ium). In the biology and medicine program of the Commission advanced zetetfiods and procedures employing radiation as a tool helped to ; reactors for industrid z~wefundamental knowledge of the biological and chemical rcraft propulsion mutip 1955 than in any carlic-r ;messes that take place in living things. Current progress herein Trted on research projects is indicative of the broad scope of this moved toward great ~r ~ am. Data on the biological and medical phases of the 1955 Telopment of compet it in ssion set up an cxpandr-t! amic test series in Nevada are given in this report. In April, =e Commission announced that it will make radioisotopes for all available to industrr, slaedical and agricultural research, and research in medical therapy Id charges for mat criafq zddirrgnosis available to domestic users at 20 percent of the AEC a1 nuclear material pp Fdbbhed price, effective July 1. proposals were reccit--rd 13 its community operations, the Commission's revised proposed Tam. The numl>er of dation to facilitate the establishment of lam1 self-government, .