This month’s calendar features the Experimental Breeder Reactor I (EBR-1) which is just a short drive from Arco, Idaho, across from the Idaho National Laboratories.

EBR-I began power operation on August 24, 1951, and was decomissioned in 1964. It was dedicated as a Registered National Historic Landmark on August 25, 1966, by President Lyndon Johnson and Glenn Seaborg, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission. On June 4, 2004, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) dedicated the facility as a Milestone in Electrical Engineering and Computing.

EBR-1 was the first operating breeder reactor, which produces more fuel for the fission process than it consumes. The breeding process involved converting uranium-238 into plutonium via fast neutrons. This then heated a liquid metal (sodium-potassium alloy) through a heat exchanger for coolant, in turn heating water into steam for turbine electrical generation.

The reactor was completed in 1951, and on December 20, 1951, it became the world’s first nuclear power plant, generating enough electricity to power four 200-watt light bulbs.

EBR-1 is a museum in which visitors can wander throughout the building on a self-guided tour (May through September) to see various exhibits and information about the breeder reactor. These two exhibits note that on December 21, 1951, all of the electrical power in the building was supplied by atomic energy.

Be sure to download this month’s calendar featuring significant atomic events from 1933 to 1994 as well as 80 atomic shots conducted during September since 1945, including the last nuclear shot on September 23, 1992 (Julin: Divider).