Controlling the Atom: The Beginnings of Nuclear Regulation 1946-1962 (NUREG-1610)

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Publication Information

Original Book Published: 1984
Date Published: April 1997

George T. Mazuzan and J. Samuel Walker

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Washington, DC 20555-0001

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Abstract

This book traces the early history of nuclear power regulation in the United States.  It focuses on the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the federal agency that until 1975 was primarily responsible for planning and carrying out programs to protect public health and safety from the hazards of the civilian use of nuclear energy.  It also describes the role of other groups that figured significantly in the development of regulatory policies, including the congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, federal agencies other than the AEC, state governments, the nuclear industry, and scientific organizations.  And it considers changes in public perceptions of and attitudes toward atomic energy and the dangers of radiation exposure.  The context in which regulatory programs evolved is a rich and complex mixture of political, legislative, legal, technological, scientific, and administrative history.