a Committee on Admissions composed of representatives from the Commission, the Chicago Operations Office, Argonne National Laboratory, the Department of State, the International Cooperation Administration, and the two cooperating schools. Foreign participants must be sponsored by their respective governments. New training courses. To assist in meeting requirements for training related to foreign reactor projects, the Commission is establishing additional training courses in 3 fields to accommodate a total of about 100 foreign nationals: (a) Reactor Hazards Evaluation course focused on safety and control procedures related to reactor operations for personnel having the equivalent prerequisites of completion of the course of the International School of Nuclear Science and Engineering plus at least 1 year's experience in the nuclear reactor field. This will be offered semiannually with an enrollment of about 10 students per course. (b) Reactor Supervisors course providing a variety of experience for reactor operations will include special seminars and lectures related to specific problems, and advanced problems of reactor operation. About 10 students will be enrolled in each of 2 courses per year. (c) Monitoring Techniques course to help foreign scientists familiarize themselves with radiochemical and radiation counting procedures, and methods of sampling and analyzing for monitoring environmental conditions. This 6 weeks curriculum will be offered 4 times per year to about 15 students per course. Oak Ridge Radioisotopes Course During the January-June reporting period, 255 participants completed the radiosotopes techniques course conducted for the Commission by the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies. This brings the totals through June to 2,060 participants of whom 268 have been from 49 foreign countries. The 4-week courses begun in 1948 have since 1955 included training for foreign personnel equal to 30 percent of a year's total enrollment. Two courses have been given exclusively as part of the Atoms for Peace programs. Foreign applicants apply through United States Embassies in their countries or, if they are in the United States, through their Embassies in Washington. Selections are made by the Institute. Due to increasing applications for this course, additional facilities were established in May to take 30 additional foreign students a year. Program Studies and Consultants The United States also provides consultants to atomic energy programs of other countries by arranging for the assignment of United States scientists and engineers to foreign programs for specified periods. Such United States personnel may be maintained on their regular payrolls, costs may be shared with the recipient country, or the assignment may be funded through Mutual Security or other United States funds. Individual Training Programs During the current 6 months, contacts have been made for 150 students from 42 nations to enter special individual training programs. This is in addition to the approximately 50 persons accepted directly under the special opportunities offered at the national laboratories. In this supplementary program the Commission provides a service by arranging on an individual basis for education of foreign students at universities, colleges or other United States institutions, and for advanced on-the-job training at national laboratories. Such training is highly selective and primarily related to advancing a particular country's atomic energy program pursuant to an agreement for cooperation. Atoms for Peace Libraries A workshop for representatives of nations in Europe and the Middle East to which unclassified Atoms for Peace libraries have been presented was held May 26-30, at Geneva, Switzerland. Lectures and demonstrations were given to explain in detail the United States system of recording and making maximum utilization of technical library collections. Forty-three representatives from 20 countries and international organizations were present. The workshop was held in response to requests for assistance from European and Middle East nations which use methods of indexing and reference that vary from United States practices. Workshops may be held in other areas if the need arises. During the January-June reporting period, three additional unclassified technical libraries were approved for presentation to Honduras, Iran, and Poland. Atoms for Peace depository libraries now have been authorized for presentation to 54 nations, to 5 international organizations, and to the city of West Berlin, SCIENTIFIC REPRESENTATIVES ABROAD With establishment of a Tokyo office in November 1957, five Commission Offices of Foreign Scientific Representatives were in operation. The other four are at Chalk River (Canada), London, Paris, and Buenos Aires. In support of the Atoms for Peace program and as Commission representatives, the services performed included (a) participating in conferences and negotiations abroad between United States and foreign officials on the many aspects of the Atoms for Peace program; (b) providing assistance to foreign atomic energy programs; (c) keeping Washington informed on the progress of atomic energy programs of other nations; and (d) serving as contact points for visiting United States officials dealing with atomic energy matters. Representative examples of their work are cited below. The Chalk River office submitted a comprehensive technical analysis of the Canadian heavy water power reactor and research programs and covered in detail operations of the NRX and NRU reactors. The London office reported on technical developments of the Windscale incident and participated in the ensuing conferences related to graphite research. The Paris office held numerous meetings with officials of the newly developing regional atomic energy authorites. The Buenos Aires scientific representative provided assistance to the biological, chemical and medical aspects of the Argentine program and traveled extensively in South America to advise and assist the atomic programs of various Latin American countries. The Tokyo representative held numerous conferences with personnel of the Japanese Atomic Energy Commission and made special reports on nuclear developments in that country. He also participated in the Commission's New Zealand and Australian missions and visited Thailand and the Republic of Korea, providing technical assistance to these countries in developing their newly proposed nuclear programs. U. N. SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ON RADIATION EFFECTS At its Fifth Session held at the U. N Headquarters, New York, from June 9-13, the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation unanimously approved adoption of a report to the General Assembly on the biological effects of radiation arising from the natural background, medical radiography, industrial uses of radioisotopes, and fallout from nuclear explosions. The committee voted down a Soviet proposal which would have put the committee on record as favoring an immediate cessation of nuclear weapons testing. The report was submitted to the Secretary General and later will be made available to the public. Commercial and Isotope Development During the past 6 months, the Commission has taken further steps to increase private commercial participation in Federal atomic energy programs, to encourage independent growth of a private atomic energy industry, and to increase the contributions which use of radioisotopes and radiation sources can make to the economy. The Commission's establishment last December of the Office of Industrial Development, with the specific mission of continuing the encouragement of commercial and isotope development, was reported previously. During this reporting period, new programs in these fields have been evolved and launched. Highlights of the JanuaryJune reporting period include: As a result of growing industrial capability in the atomic energy field, the Commission authorized its field managers of operations under specified conditions to procure from private industry certain Commission requirements for processing and fabrication services. The Commission announced that it will no longer accept requests from the public for gamma irradiation services which are available from private industry. Charges were established for the conversion of uranyl nitrate to uranium hexafluoride and plutonium nitrate to plutonium metal, thus completing for reactor operators the cost pattern under interim Commission contracts for chemical processing of used fuel elements. Charges for the sale of depleted uranium were published. The Commission continued a study of the problem of public liability in connection with reactor sales abroad. Industrial organizations were queried on their interest in large quantities of lithium 7 at lower prices. As of June 30, 1,415 permits for access to restricted data on the civilian applications of atomic energy were in effect. The Commission entered contracts with academic and industrial organizations for research to develop increased use of radioisotopes and radiation sources, and to augment training in industrial applications. 14 See p. VIII and p. 305, Twenty-third Semiannual Report to Congress (July-December 1957). Prices were cut to an average of less than 10 percent of former prices on a series of key radioisotopes. areas. The responsibility of the Commission for encouraging peaceful uses of atomic energy enters into decisions made in nearly all program The steps taken in these areas are described throughout this report, particularly in the sections on Raw Materials; Reactor Development; Military Applications; International Activities; Licenses, Regulations, Indemnity; Information Services, and Education and Training. COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT New Commercial Services Thorium and uranium materials. The Spencer Chemical Co. was issued a special nuclear materials license in January for the recovery of enriched uranium from scrap and the preparation of uranium compounds from uranium hexafluoride. The Mallinckrodt Chemical Co. was issued a special nuclear materials license in March for recovery of enriched uranium from scrap. Baker & Co.. Newark, N. J., Nuclear Materials & Equipment Corp., Apollo, Pa., and Davison Chemical Co., Erwin, Tenn., were licensed previously to recover unirradiated enriched scrap. The Davison Chemical Co. has indicated that it now carries thorium oxide and thorium metal in stock. Davison is one of six companies licensed as processors and suppliers of thorium compounds and of thorium metal on a commercial basis.15 Gamma irradiation services. On February 18, the Commission announced that, as of March 31, no new requests for gamma irradiation service would be accepted from the public unless private industry cannot readily provide the requested service. A recent Commission survey showed that at least 16 academic and industrial organizations were prepared to provide gamma irradiation service on a commercial basis. Commercial processing and fabrication. In recognition of the growing industrial capability for processing and fabricating unirradiated nuclear materials, the Commission has authorized its 10 operations office managers to purchase these services and materials from commercial sources in connection with requirements for power and test reactor programs whenever commercial sources are available at reasonable prices. 1 See pp. 148-149, Twenty-third Semiannual Report to Congress (July-December 1957). |