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Hahn and Strassman
Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassman, German, demonstrate nuclear fission. -
Period: to
Nuclear Energy
Nuclear energy in the United States -
Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project is formed to secretly build the atomic bomb before the Germans -
1st Nuclear Reactor
The first nuclear reactor begins operation in Richland, Washington -
1st Atomic Bomb
The U.S. explodes the first atomic device near Alamagordo, New Mexico -
Atomic Bomb Used
The U.S. drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrenders -
Civilan Nuclear Use
The Atomic Energy Act is passed, establishing the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC). The AEC places further development of nuclear technology under civilian (not military) control -
Nuclear Energy!
The first electricity producing breeder reactor is built by the Atomic Energy Commission -
Fallout Shelters
President Kennedy advises Americans to build fallout shelters in case of a nuclear war -
AEC Ablolished
The Atomic Energy Commission is abolished. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is developed -
Health Concerns
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act is passed to protect human health and the environment from the potential hazards of nuclear waste disposal -
Nukes in Space
The Voyager 2 spacecraft's electricity is generated by the decay of plutonium pellets -
Meltdown!
Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania suffers a partial core meltdown -
Nuclear Waste
The U.S. looks into a high-level nuclear waste repository (storage) -
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor meltdown and fire occur in the Soviet Union. Massive quantities of radioactive material are released. Winds carry radioactivity across western Europe -
Former President Bush
Former President Bush approves an energy policy that looks at nuclear energy as a significant part of America's energy
