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The original mission of NRTS was the development of nuclear energy during the immediate post-war years. In 1951, one of the most significant events in the 20th century occurred at the NRTS - the first harnessing of atomic energy. This happened at the Experimental Breeder Reactor Number 1 (EBR-1). The site of this event is memorialized as a Registered National Historic Landmark open to the public. On July 17, 1955, reactors at the NRTS made Arco, Idaho, the first town in the world to be powered by atomic energy.
On January 3, 1961, the first fatal nuclear accident in the United States occurred at the NRTS. An experimental reactor called SL-1 (Stationary Low-Power Plant Number 1) was destroyed when a control rod was removed incorrectly leading to core meltdown and explosion. All three men working in the reactor were killed. Due to the extensive radioactive isotopeIsotopes are atoms of a chemical element whose nuclei have the same atomic number, Z but different atomic weights, A''. The word isotope meaning at the same place comes from the fact that isotopes are located at the same place on the periodic table. The a contamination, all three had to be buried in lead coffins.
Work at INEEL has included initial development of nuclear reactor designs, testing experimental reactor designs, developing prototype reactors for ships in the US Navy, and developing technologies to manage nuclear waste.