Atomic Energy Act of 1954

The Atomic Energy Act of 1954, 42 U.S.C. §§ 2011–2021, 2022-2286i, 2296a-2297h-13, is a United States federal law that covers for the development, regulation, and disposal of nuclear materials and facilities in the United States.

Atomic Energy Act of 1954

Long title	An Act to amend the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, as amended, and for other purposes.
Enacted by	the 83rd United States Congress
Effective	August 30, 1954
Citations
Public law	83-703
Statutes at Large	68 Stat. 919
Codification
Acts amended	Atomic Energy Act of 1946
Titles amended	42 U.S.C.: Public Health and Social Welfare
U.S.C. sections amended	42 U.S.C. ch. 14
Legislative history
Introduced in the House as H.R. 9757 by William S. Cole (R-NY) on June 30, 1954 Passed the House on July 26, 1954 (231–154) Passed the Senate on July 27, 1954 (57–28, in lieu of S. 3690) Reported by the joint conference committee on August ?, 1954; agreed to by the Senate on August 17, 1954 (59–17) and by the House on August ?, 1954 (without recorded vote) Signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on August 30, 1954
United States Supreme Court cases
Power Reactor Co. v. Electricians, 367 U.S. 396 (1961) Train v. Colorado Public Interest Research Group, Inc., 426 U.S. 1 (1976) Pacific Gas & Elec. Co. v. State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Comm'n, 461 U.S. 190 (1983) Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U.S. 238 (1984) Huffman v. Western Nuclear, Inc., 486 U.S. 663 (1988) English v. General Elec. Co., 496 U.S. 72 (1990) Virginia Uranium, Inc. v. Warren, No. 16-1275, 587 U.S. ___ (2019)

President Eisenhower signs the bill in an official signing ceremony.

It was an amendment to the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 and substantially refined certain aspects of the law, including increased support for the possibility of a civilian nuclear industry. Notably, it made it possible for the government to allow private companies to gain technical information (Restricted Data) about nuclear energy production and the production of fissile materials, allowing for greater exchange of information with foreign nations as part of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Atoms for Peace program, and reversed certain provisions in the 1946 law which had made it impossible to patent processes for generating nuclear energy or fissile materials.

The H.R. 9757 legislation was passed by the 83rd U.S. Congressional session and signed into law by President Dwight Eisenhower on August 30, 1954.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission described the Atomic Energy Act as, "the fundamental U.S. law on both the civilian and the military uses of nuclear materials."

See also

• Arms Control and Disarmament Act of 1961
• Atomic Energy Act
• Bourke B. Hickenlooper
• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978

External links

• Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as amended (PDF/details) in the GPO Statute Compilations collection
• Atomic Energy Act of 1954 as enacted (details) in the US Statutes at Large
• H.R. 9757 on Congress.gov
• Nuclear Regulatory Legislation compilation of statutes and materials through the 112th Congress from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
• Foreign relations of the United States, 1952–1954 from the Office of the Historian of the US Department of State