The New Power — The Story of the National Reactor Testing Station (1965 film)

By Dr. Nick Touran, Ph.D., P.E., 2023-07-04 , Reading time: 6 minutes

We’re excited to announce the recent digitization of this 1965 film summarizing the test reactors and other activities of the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS), known today as the Idaho National Lab (INL). This is the second of four historical nuclear films in our latest batch of 4K digitizations from 16mm film at the National Archives.

1965 US Atomic Energy Commission video about the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS), known today as the Idaho National Lab (INL). Digitized by us from the National Archives (NAID 88194)

Catalog description: This nontechnical film, for all audience levels, tells how the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho is furthering the USAEC's quest for economic nuclear power. Most of the more than 40 experimental nuclear reactors built, being built, or planned there are described either historically or currently, including the Navy's prototypes for the submarine Nautilus and aircraft carrier Enterprise; the internationally known testing reactor complex (MTR, ETR, ATR); the Idaho Chemical Processing Plant, the Army's mobile low power nuclear plant (ML-1); and the importance of breeding nuclear fuel as authorized by the two Experimental Breeder Reactor complexes, EBR-I and EBR-II. Also discussed are the USAEC's leading reactor safety programs SPERT and STEP (Special Power Excursion Reactor Test and Safety Test Engineering Program). The film also explains the basic principles of power reactor construction and operation in an animated sequence that is also available as a separate film titled, "Basic Principles of Power Reactor Operation.

Thanks to Ross Koningstein for his help in making this happen.