Nuclear Power

Development of Nuclear Power

The fission process that takes place in nuclear reactors to produce energy was discovered in the late 1930s. This revolutionary discovery was first applied to the production of atomic bombs in the 1940s and to the propulsion of submarines. As the race between the United States and the Soviet Union to develop and amass nuclear weapons escalated, U.S. President Eisenhower's 1953 “Atoms for Peace” speech to the United Nations General Assembly called for the development of peaceful uses of atomic energy, the establishment of an International Atomic Energy Agency (which occurred in 1957), and the creation of an international “nuclear bank” that would control ownership of the materials used in making nuclear weapons.

In the United States and Europe, the speech and programs following from it catalyzed the development of a civilian nuclear power industry (and other uses of radioisotopes). In the United States, three nuclear power plants were in operation by 1960 and 87 by 1980, providing about 20% of U.S. electricity demand. Following the oil crisis in 1973, France determined to become independent of fossil fuels and ratcheted up its nuclear power program so that nuclear reactors now produce 75% to 80% of its electricity demand.

The industry's expansion in the United States ground to a halt following the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, in which mechanical failures and operator errors caused a partial melting of the reactor's core. Although no radioactive gases escaped from the plant, the incident, combined with other industry difficulties and growing public opposition in the years prior to it, led to a virtual freeze on construction and new plant orders in the United States.

It was the 1986 Chernobyl disaster that put the brakes on the industry almost worldwide for the next decade or more. A combination of operator errors and flaws in the plant's design led to explosions that blew the top off one of the reactors, releasing dangerous amounts of radioactive material into the air, which spread through much of the western part of the Soviet Union and Europe. Although the immediate death toll was moderate (some 50 plant and rescue workers), it is estimated that some 4,000 children and adolescents have developed thyroid cancer as a result and that at least 4,000 deaths will ultimately be attributable to the disaster.

In 1989, in Chernobyl's immediate aftermath, industry leaders formed the World Association of Nuclear Operators to promote international exchange on “best practices.” Furthermore, but with some delay, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), governments, and nuclear safety authorities drew up the Convention on Nuclear Safety, adopted in 1994, the aim of which is to legally commit states operating nuclear power plants to maintain a high level of safety by setting international benchmarks. Although these efforts sought to re-instill public confidence in nuclear power, the industry still faced decline or stagnation in most countries.

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