ENS Past President’s Reflections on ‘Atoms for Peace’ Speech

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In December 2003, fifty years had passed since the famous 'Atoms for Peace' speech by US President Eisenhower at the UN General Assembly. Looking back on that day, 8 December 1953, it is abundantly evident that, at that time, the speech encompassed a visionary decision, which paved the way for the peaceful use of nuclear energy worldwide.

Within the nuclear community, numerous commemorations marked
this 50th anniversary. The American Nuclear Society (ANS) invited the top representatives of major nuclear organisations to prepare short
statements which were published in the November 2003 issue of their
journal, Nuclear News. As the president of the ENS, Andrej Stritar
was also invited to prepare a statement for Nuclear News. It is
republished on the page which follows.

Great promises, fast expansion, slowdown

The decision made by the American government in 1953 to offer to mankind the use of fissile material for peaceful purposes was an incredible step forward during the tense political situation of that period. It is worth noting how quickly that initiative was adopted by other nations, and how things have really developed in the direction envisioned by President Eisenhower. It is amusing for us baby-boomers to see how enormous the enthusiasm was for anything atomic that was presented in the books and articles during that period. Almost everything was planned to be powered by the atom: ships, planes, rockets, trains …

But, as the decades have passed, the enthusiasm has diminished. In 1979, Three Mile Island happened, and in 1986, Chernobyl – and almost as suddenly the word ‘atom’ changed from something most promising to something most threatening. For years, politicians didn’t want to speak about it, and most of the population simply wanted to forget it. Nobody wants to mention all the benefits that we had – and still have – from the atom. That is, except for us enthusiastic professionals, who are sure that harnessing of the atom is making the world better.

As I see it, scientists and engineers were successful much too quickly 50years ago. We had to recognize that it also takes other, softer knowledge and skills to properly master technologies that are as complex and potentially dangerous as is the use of the atom. As a consequence, in the last few decades we have been putting more and more emphasis on mastering the human aspects of using the atom by trying to prevent the inherent sloppiness of us humans from causing any harmful effects.

The results of our work are clear: nuclear energy is producing about 16 percent of the world’s electricity, and it is still the fastest growing primary energy sector. It will have to remain an important part of the energy mix also in the future. Where else could we get the energy for all the billions ofpeople who would like to move from poverty to a decent life?

Source: NUCLEAR NEWS, November 2003
Andrej Stritar’s statement has been republished with permission.