The Manhattan Project-the World War II race to produce an atomic bomb-transformed the entire country in myriad ways, but it did not affect each region equally. Acting on an enduring perception of the American West as an "empty" place, the U.S. government located a disproportionate number of nuclear facilities-particularly the ones most likely to spread pollution-in western states. The Manhattan Project manufactured plutonium at Hanford, Washington; designed and assembled bombs at Los Alamos, New Mexico; and detonated the world's first atomic bomb at Alamagordo, New Mexico, on June 16, 1945. In the years that followed the war, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission selected additional western sites for its work. Many westerners initially welcomed the atom. Like federal officials, they, too, regarded their region as "empty," or underdeveloped. Facilities to make, test, and base atomic weapons, sites to store nuclear waste, and even nuclear power plants were regarded as assets. By the 1960s and 1970s, however, regional attitudes began to change. At a variety of locales, ranging from Eskimo Alaska to Mormon Utah, westerners devoted themselves to resisting the atom and its effects on their environments and communities. Just as the atomic age had dawned in the American West, so its artificial sun began to set there. The Atomic West brings together contributions from several disciplines to explore the impact on the West of the development of atomic power from wartime secrecy and initial postwar enthusiasm to public doubts and protest in the 1970s and 1980s. An impressive example of the benefits of interdisciplinary studies on complex topics, The Atomic West advances our understanding of both regional history and the history of science, and does so with human communities as a significant focal point. The book will be of special interest to students and experts on the American West, environmental history, and the history of science and technology.

The promise and peril of nuclear power have been a preoccupation of the modern age. Though the nuclear industry has witnessed periods of expansion and retrenchment, there are now more than one hundred nuclear reactors providing America with almost a quarter of its electrical power.

Robert Duffy now examines the politics of nuclear power over the last fifty years, relating broad trends in American politics to changes in the regulation of the nuclear industry to show how federal policies in this area have been made, implemented, and altered. He weaves a discussion of institutional change in all three branches of government into a study of agenda-setting, regulatory reform, and "subgovernment" politics, demonstrating how these forces combined to create policy change in this important area of public policy.

Duffy's work traces nuclear politics from the creation of a powerful subgovernment through the public lobby reforms of the late 1960s and early 1970s and the deregulatory backlash of the Reagan years. He demonstrates that while policies did change in the 1970s, they did not change as much as other accounts have suggested, and that the industry continued to receive considerable federal support. The book is particularly significant for extending the discussion of nuclear policy through the Bush and Clinton years, including the controversy over waste disposal, new licensing procedures enacted in the 1992 Amendments to the Atomic Energy Act, and the effects of deregulation of electric utilities.

By providing both a description of the transformation of this policy community and an analysis of how regulatory change occurs, Nuclear Politics in America offers a new and important view of policymaking in America.

The development and implementation of an appropriate infrastructure to support the successful introduction of nuclear power and its safe, secure, peaceful and sustainable application is an issue of central concern, especially for countries that are considering and planning their first nuclear power plant. In preparing the necessary nuclear infrastructure, there are several activities that need to be completed. These activities can be split into three progressive phases of development. This publication provides a description of the conditions expected to be achieved by the end of each phase to assist with the best use of resources. 'Milestones' refer to the conditions necessary to demonstrate that the phase has been successfully completed.

This publication is a revision of IAEA-TECDOC-1212 which primarily focused on enhancing the utilization of existing research reactors. This updated version also provides guidance on how to develop and implement a strategic plan for a new research reactor project and will be of particular interest for organizations which are preparing a feasibility study to establish such a new facility. This publication will enable managers to determine more accurately the actual and potential capabilities of an existing reactor, or the intended purpose and type of a new facility. At the same time, management will be able to match these capabilities to stakeholders/users' needs and establish the strategy of meeting such needs. In addition, several annexes are presented, including some examples as clarification to the main text and ready-to-use templates as assistance to the team drafting a strategic plan.

Nuclear power plant outage management is a key factor for safe and economic nuclear power plant performance. This publication discusses plant outage strategy and how this strategy is actually implemented. The main areas that are important for outage optimization that were identified by the utilities and government organizations participating in this report are: (1) organization and management; (2) outage planning and preparation; (3) outage execution; (4) safety outage review; and (5) counter measures to avoid the extension of outages and to facilitate the work in forced outages. Good outage management practices cover many different areas of work and this publication aims to communicate these good practices in a way that they can be used effectively by operators and utilities.

In situ leach or leaching (ISL) or in situ recovery (ISR) mining has become one of the standard uranium production methods. Its application to amenable uranium deposits (in certain sedimentary formations) has been growing in view of its competitive production costs and low surface impacts. This publication provides an historical overview and shows how ISL experience around the world can be used to direct the development of technical activities, taking into account environmental considerations, and emphasizing the economics of the process, including responsible mine closure. The publication provides information on how to design, operate and regulate current and future projects safely and efficiently, with a view to maximizing performance and minimizing negative environmental impact.

Outstanding Title by Choice Magazine On the banks of the Pacific Northwest's greatest river lies the Hanford nuclear reservation, an industrial site that appears to be at odds with the surrounding vineyards and desert. The 586-square-mile compound on the Columbia River is known both for its origins as part of the Manhattan Project, which made the first atomic bombs, and for the monumental effort now under way to clean up forty-five years of waste from manufacturing plutonium for nuclear weapons. Hanford routinely makes the news, as scientists, litigants, administrators, and politicians argue over its past and its future. It is easy to think about Hanford as an expression of federal power, a place apart from humanity and nature, but that view distorts its history. Atomic Frontier Days looks through a wider lens, telling a complex story of production, community building, politics, and environmental sensibilities. In brilliantly structured parallel stories, the authors bridge the divisions that accompany Hanford's headlines and offer perspective on today's controversies. Influenced as much by regional culture, economics, and politics as by war, diplomacy, and environmentalism, Hanford and the Tri-Cities of Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick illuminate the history of the modern American West.

Project management is a leadership function primarily concerned with the organization, coordination and control of large undertakings, with the aim of achieving technical excellence by working to quality standards, optimizing the schedule and the supply chain, and minimizing costs. Competent project management can reduce costs through more efficient work sequences, higher productivity, shorter activity durations and the parallel reduction of accumulated interest during construction of nuclear power plants. Based on past proven practices in Member States, this publication provides guidance on project management from the preparatory phase to plant turnover to commissioning of nuclear power plants. The guidelines and experiences described will enable project managers to obtain better performance in nuclear power plant construction.

The seismic design criteria applied to sitting commercial nuclear power plants operating in the U.S. received increased attention following the March 11th, 2011 earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. Since the events, some in Congress have begun to question whether U.S. plants are vulnerable to a similar threat, particularly in light of the Nuclear Regulatory Commissions's (NRC)ongoing reassessment of seismic risks at certain plant sites. This book presents some of the general design concepts of operating nuclear power plants in order to discuss design considerations for seismic events.

Today when the world is facing serious energy crisis and climate change problems, the issue of nuclear energy and power has regained much importance particularly in countries with rapidly growing energy demands like India and China, and where alternatives sources are scarce or expensive like in Japan and South Korea. The book, divided into seven chapters, focuses on various positive and negative aspects of nuclear energy and power. The chapters elaborate on issues like an in depth analysis of contemporary nuclear power production, nuclear safety and existing systems of safeguard, including the roles and responsibilities of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the performance of nuclear reactors worldwide, the transport, storage and disposal of radioactive materials and wastes, environmental health and other effects of nuclear energy and power technologies.

Questions regarding the advancement of the technology for production and regeneration of nuclear fuel and to the further perfection of the nuclear fuel cycle are very significant when determining the ultimate costs of electrical energy produced at nuclear power stations as well as for safety. The 2nd edition, supplemented and augmented, of this ground-breaking book analyses the role of plasma and high frequency processes.

Developments at the nanoscale are leading to new possibilities and challenges for nuclear applications in areas ranging from medicine to international commerce to atomic power production/waste treatment. Progress in nanotech is helping the nuclear industry slash the cost of energy production. It also continues to improve application reliability and safety measures, which remain a critical concern, especially since the reactor disasters in Japan. Exploring the new wide-ranging landscape of nuclear function, Atomic Nanoscale Technology in the Nuclear Industry details the breakthroughs in nanoscale applications and methodologies that are revolutionizing power production, biotechnology, and material science. Developments in atomic nanoscale technology have given us the ability to: Use ion beams to Investigate and optimize radiation energy losses at the nanoscopic level Assess nanoscopic safety circumstances involved in a reactor failure Analyze characteristics of nuclear spacecraft operating in the nanogravity of deep space Evaluate light collection enhancement for digital X-ray detection Apply brachytherapy using radioisotopes for cancer therapy Treat nuclear waste at the nanoscopic level Use systems-thinking decision making to analyze financial progress of nanotech in the energy industry Assess safety (and safety management methods) for nuclear nanomaterials used in plant operations Representing a first step in multi-combinatorial research, this text incorporates advanced studies that use Monte Carlo and solid-state measurement (including radiation detection) methods. Researchers used these to demonstrate the potential to upgrade methods of radiation protection and nuclear reactor operation (safety, waste disposal, etc.). The author also addresses how we can use nanotechnology to address industrial concerns and enhance nuclear medicine techniques. He highlights several nanomaterial systems and devices to illustrate developments in this area. About the Author: Taeho Woo launched the specialized field of atomic multinology (interdisciplinary research of nuclear technology), which combines the application of information technology, biotechnology, and nanotechnology in the nuclear industry.

The hidden history of African uranium and what it means-for a state, an object, an industry, a workplace-to be "nuclear." Uranium from Africa has long been a major source of fuel for nuclear power and atomic weapons, including the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. In 2003, after the infamous "yellow cake from Niger," Africa suddenly became notorious as a source of uranium, a component of nuclear weapons. But did that admit Niger, or any of Africa's other uranium-producing countries, to the select society of nuclear states? Does uranium itself count as a nuclear thing? In this book, Gabrielle Hecht lucidly probes the question of what it means for something-a state, an object, an industry, a workplace-to be "nuclear." Hecht shows that questions about being nuclear-a state that she calls "nuclearity"-lie at the heart of today's global nuclear order and the relationships between "developing nations" (often former colonies) and "nuclear powers" (often former colonizers). Hecht enters African nuclear worlds, focusing on miners and the occupational hazard of radiation exposure. Could a mine be a nuclear workplace if (as in some South African mines) its radiation levels went undetected and unmeasured? With this book, Hecht is the first to put Africa in the nuclear world, and the nuclear world in Africa. By doing so, she remakes our understanding of the nuclear age.

In Rationality and Ritual, internationally renowned expert Brian Wynne offers a profound analysis of science and technology policymaking. By focusing on an episode of major importance in Britain's nuclear history - the Windscale Inquiry, a public hearing about the future of fuel reprocessing - he offers a powerful critique of such judicial procedures and the underlying assumptions of the rationalist approach. This second edition makes available again this classic and still very relevant work. Debates about nuclear power have come to the fore once again. Yet we still do not have adequate ways to make decisions or frame policy deliberation on these big issues, involving true public debate, rather than ritualistic processes in which the rules and scope of the debate are presumed and imposed by those in authority. The perspectives in this book are as significant and original as they were when it was written. The new edition contains a substantial introduction by the author reflecting on changes (and lack of) in the intervening years and introducing new themes, relevant to today's world of big science and technology, that can be drawn out of the original text. A new foreword by Gordon MacKerron, an expert on energy and nuclear policy, sets this seminal work in the context of contemporary nuclear and related big technology debates.