Author: George T. Mazuzan
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520051829
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 556

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Book Description

Author: J. Samuel Walker
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 9780520079137
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 548

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Book Description
The late 1960s saw an extraordinary growth in the American nuclear industry: dozens of plants of unprecedented size were ordered throughout the country. Yet at the same time, public concern about the natural environment and suspicion of both government and industry increased dramatically. Containing the Atom is the first scholarly history of nuclear power regulation during those tumultuous years. J. Samuel Walker focuses on the activities of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the agency entrusted with the primary responsibility for the safety of nuclear power, and shows that from the beginning the AEC faced a paradox: it was charged with both promoting and controlling the nuclear power industry. Out of this paradox grew severe tensions, which Walker discusses in detail. His balanced evaluation of the issues and the positions taken by the AEC and others makes this study an invaluable resource for all those interested in the continuing controversies that surround nuclear energy. The late 1960s saw an extraordinary growth in the American nuclear industry: dozens of plants of unprecedented size were ordered throughout the country. Yet at the same time, public concern about the natural environment and suspicion of both government and industry increased dramatically. Containing the Atom is the first scholarly history of nuclear power regulation during those tumultuous years. J. Samuel Walker focuses on the activities of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, the agency entrusted with the primary responsibility for the safety of nuclear power, and shows that from the beginning the AEC faced a paradox: it was charged with both promoting and controlling the nuclear power industry. Out of this paradox grew severe tensions, which Walker discusses in detail. His balanced evaluation of the issues and the positions taken by the AEC and others makes this study an invaluable resource for all those interested in the continuing controversies that surround nuclear energy.

Author: Atomic Industrial Forum
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nuclear industry
Languages : en
Pages : 183

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Book Description

Author: Sonja D. Schmid
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262538806
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 395

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Book Description
An examination of how the technical choices, social hierarchies, economic structures, and political dynamics shaped the Soviet nuclear industry leading up to Chernobyl. The Chernobyl disaster has been variously ascribed to human error, reactor design flaws, and industry mismanagement. Six former Chernobyl employees were convicted of criminal negligence; they defended themselves by pointing to reactor design issues. Other observers blamed the Soviet style of ideologically driven economic and industrial management. In Producing Power, Sonja Schmid draws on interviews with veterans of the Soviet nuclear industry and extensive research in Russian archives as she examines these alternate accounts. Rather than pursue one “definitive” explanation, she investigates how each of these narratives makes sense in its own way and demonstrates that each implies adherence to a particular set of ideas—about high-risk technologies, human-machine interactions, organizational methods for ensuring safety and productivity, and even about the legitimacy of the Soviet state. She also shows how these attitudes shaped, and were shaped by, the Soviet nuclear industry from its very beginnings. Schmid explains that Soviet experts established nuclear power as a driving force of social, not just technical, progress. She examines the Soviet nuclear industry's dual origins in weapons and electrification programs, and she traces the emergence of nuclear power experts as a professional community. Schmid also fundamentally reassesses the design choices for nuclear power reactors in the shadow of the Cold War's arms race. Schmid's account helps us understand how and why a complex sociotechnical system broke down. Chernobyl, while unique and specific to the Soviet experience, can also provide valuable lessons for contemporary nuclear projects.

Author: U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nuclear energy
Languages : en
Pages : 58

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Book Description

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 532

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Book Description

Author: Philip L. Cantelon
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 9780812213546
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 396

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Book Description
For this edition (first in 1984), the editors have updated the collection of primary documents which tell the story of atomic energy in the US from the discovery of fission through the development of nuclear weapons, international proliferation, and attempts at control. The book also includes a new chapter, reflects on Chernoyl, Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Author: U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Nuclear energy
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description

Author: J. Louis DONNELLY
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 25

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Book Description

Author: Mary Goldring
Publisher: Butterworth-Heinemann
ISBN: 1483223817
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 197

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Book Description
Economics of Atomic Energy covers the historical developments and major trends in atomic energy and its utilization. This book is organized into three parts encompassing 10 chapters that emphasize the economic aspect of nuclear power. The first part provides an overview of the status of atomic industry, from uranium supply to production and uses of fissile materials. This part looks into the accurate measurement of the national incomes that have pressed ahead with atomic development and how much of the national resources have diverted to atomic research. The second part deals first with the increasing demand for cheaper energy, followed by the assessment of factors affecting the costs of nuclear reactor. The third part discusses Britain's atomic investment on research. This part also considers the other countries' atomic industry methods, including U.S.A., France, and Germany. This book will be of value to nuclear physicists, economists, and policy makers.