Industrial Use of Atom Power

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27065, 13 June 1953, Page 6

Industrial Use of Atom Power

Recently several indications have been given of the rapid strides now being made in exploring the possibilities of applying nuclear energy to peaceful purposes. The atom is expected to play its greatest part in industry through the development of new sources of power; and this is recognised in the atomic developmental programmes of the leading Western countries. At present, of course, most of the projects known to be in active progress in the United States, Canada, and Britain for the development of atomic power plant are military. That alternative applications are in the minds of those responsible for the various programmes is clearly indicated by moves in the United States, Canada, and Britain towards loosening the ties of governmental control for the evolution and exploitation of industrial processes to use nuclear energy. Recently, the Canadian Defence Production Minister (Mr C. D. Howe) announced that power companies would be invited to participate in Canada’s atomic energy programme. It would be their task to help Canada’s nuclear scientists “to put the atom into overalls and “ send it to work in the factories of “ the nation In the United States, the Atomic Energy Commission will soon present to Congress a plan for revision of the Atomic Energy A ct > so that private enterprise may be given greater latitude in actively promoting atomic power for industry. Some American opinion is urging the need to determine now a national policy for using the period when atomic power competes with existing power sources. Britain, too, is thinking about policy for the days when atomic energy production will become an important power industry. In the House of Commons recently, Sir Winston Churchill announced the appointment of a committee to devise a plan for transferring responsibility for atomic energy from the Ministry of Supply to some new, non-depart-mental authority, with a view to ensuring the best conditions for

rapid technical and economic progress in this field. These several developments do not, of course, mean that the fiay is at hand when atomic power will be an economic proposition truly competitive with the conventional sources of energy. It is likely to be some years yet before atomic processes can be at all widely used on a commercial scale. But clearly the Canadian, United States and British Governments foresee the end of the period in which it was necessary to keep atomic energy development as a monopoly of government and atomic information a security prerogative. This is a portentous change. It hints, indeed, that the various governments think it necessary to keep a step ahead of quickening technological progress in evolving methods for applying atomic power in industrial uses. Though the United States atomic energy programme is much bigger, and though about 20 per cent, of the budget of the Atomic Energy Commission for the year beginning on July 1 is to go to projects associated in one way or another with thermo-nuclear projects, Britain is believed to be building the first nuclear power station primarily designed for supplying electricity for civilian needs. This plant is now being set up at Calder Hall, adjacent to the Atomic Energy Establishment at Windscale, Cumberland. The recent announcement of the start of preparation work for the Calder Hall plant has been taken to indicate that the technology of applying nuclear energy to the generation of electricity has already reached a more advanced stage than might have been assumed from the guarded authoritative pronouncements already made; and consequently that it is time to give attention to the economics of nuclear power in practical commer-cial-scale operation.