| Idaho National Laboratory |
Article Index for Idaho |
Website Links For Idaho National |
Information AboutIdaho National Laboratory |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT IDAHO NATIONAL LABORATORY | |
| united states department of energy national laboratories | |
| buildings and structures in idaho | |
| national laboratory | |
|
The Idaho National Laboratory ('''INL''') is an 890-square-mile (2,300-km&2) complex located in the Idaho desert between the towns of Arco and Idaho Falls , at . It was established in 1949 as the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS). In 1975 the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was divided into the Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The Idaho site was for a short time named ERDA and then subsequently renamed to the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) in 1977 with the creation of the Department of Energy (DOE) under President Carter. In 1997, the name was changed again to the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL). On February 1 , 2005 , Battelle Energy Alliance took over operation of the lab from Bechtel , merged with Argonne West, and is now known as Idaho National Laboratory (INL). At this time the laboratory's clean-up activities were moved to a separate contract, the Idaho Cleanup Project , which is managed by contractor CH2M-WG Idaho. Research activities were consolidated in the newly named Idaho National Laboratory. The lab currently employs about 8,000 people. HISTORY The original mission of NRTS was the development of Nuclear Energy during the immediate post-war years. In 1951, one of the most significant events in the 20th Century occurred at the NRTS — the first harnessing of atomic energy for generating electric power. This happened at the Experimental Breeder Reactor Number 1 (EBR-1). The site of this event is memorialized as a Registered National Historic Landmark open to the public. On July 17 , 1955 , reactors at the NRTS made Arco, Idaho , the first town in the world to be powered by atomic energy. On January 3 , 1961 , the first fatal nuclear reactor accident in the United States occurred at the NRTS. An experimental reactor called SL-1 (Stationary Low-Power Plant Number 1) was destroyed when a control rod was removed incorrectly leading to core meltdown and explosion. All three men working in the reactor were killed. Due to the extensive radioactive Isotope contamination, all three had to be buried in lead coffins. The events are the subject of a book published in 2003, Idaho Falls: The untold story of America's first nuclear accident.1 INL operates the Advanced Test Reactor , a facility used to radiate materials or test new components and fuels. Work at INL has included initial development of nuclear reactor designs, testing Experimental Reactor Designs , developing prototype reactors for ships in the US Navy , and developing technologies to manage Nuclear Waste . |
| "http://terraservermicrosoftcom/mapaspxt=1&s=14&lon=-1130&lat=4352&w=750&h=500" class="copylinks" target="_blank">Microsoft Terraserver |
|
|
|