Atomic Energy Commission

The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was a U.S. federal agency that controlled the nation's nuclear weapons program, nuclear research, and civilian nuclear power from 1946 until 1974. It oversaw thousands of contractors, laboratories, shipyards, and reactor sites where asbestos was used heavily as insulation, fireproofing, and shielding material. The AEC's records, contracts, and safety bulletins are an important historical source for documenting where and how workers were exposed to asbestos on nuclear-related projects.

Origin

Created by the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, the AEC took over the wartime Manhattan Project from the U.S. Army. It was abolished in 1974 and split into the Energy Research and Development Administration (later folded into the Department of Energy) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Significance in Asbestos Context

Workers at AEC sites (including Oak Ridge, Hanford, Savannah River, Los Alamos, Rocky Flats, Argonne, and dozens of naval shipyards building nuclear vessels) were exposed to enormous quantities of asbestos in pipe insulation, gaskets, valve packing, reactor shielding, and protective clothing. The AEC knew by the 1940s and 1950s that asbestos posed health risks but continued to specify its use in classified construction and maintenance. For patients who worked at AEC facilities or for AEC contractors, this history matters because (1) it can establish a workplace exposure source even when records are sparse or classified, (2) it may qualify the worker for benefits under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA) in addition to traditional asbestos claims, and (3) it shifts some claims away from bankrupt manufacturer trusts toward federal compensation programs.

Related Terms

EEOICPA, Manhattan Project, Department of Energy, Naval Shipyard Exposure, Occupational Exposure, Asbestos Insulation

Notes

• If you or a family member worked at an AEC site or for an AEC contractor, request employment records and dosimetry/badge records from the Department of Energy's Former Worker Medical Screening Program.
• File an EEOICPA claim through the Department of Labor's Division of Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation. Asbestos-related lung cancer and mesothelioma are covered illnesses for many covered facilities.
• Preserve any old security badges, W-2s, union records, or coworker contact information that can document work at AEC or successor (DOE) sites; this evidence is often decisive when official records are incomplete or classified.
• A patient can usually pursue EEOICPA benefits and asbestos trust/lawsuit claims at the same time. Ask whether your legal team handles both tracks.

In the Union Carbide documents

Atomic Energy Commission is named in 8 Union Carbide documents dated 1962 to 1974 (8 mentioned), from asbestos lawsuits over Union Carbide's Calidria asbestos. All are published in our collection.

• N. H. Ketcham, Industrial Hygiene Summary Report, January 1 - June 30, 1962, with Institute Plant Report by R. E. Peele (1962) UC-2011 (mentioned)
• N. H. Ketcham, Industrial Hygiene Summary Report, January-June 1962, with Institute Plant 512 Activities Report by R. E. Peele (1962) UC-4575 (mentioned)
• N. H. Ketcham, Industrial Hygiene Summary Report for July 1 - December 31, 1962 (1963) UC-5149 (mentioned)
• American National Standard Z88.2-1969, Practices for Respiratory Protection, with Appended Respirator Regulatory Outline Slides and Federal Register Notice (1969) UC-1708 (mentioned)
• List of Health Hazards Considerations Supplementing the Department of Labor Walsh-Healey Checklist (1970) UC-1776 (mentioned)
• List of Health Hazards Considerations Under the Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act, Supplement to U.S. Department of Labor Checklist (1970) UC-1790 (mentioned)
• D. E. Deese to L. T. Windel Transmitting Walsh-Healey Act Materials, with Attached Walsh-Healey Safety Checklists and NAM Analysis (1971) UC-1936 (mentioned)
• Dinger, Whitfield, Hammons and Huff (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) for EPA, Draft Review of the Environmental Effects of Asbestos, ORNL-EPA-1 (1974) UC-4636 (mentioned)

Names in the documents

The spellings documents use for Atomic Energy Commission, OCR misreadings included, so a search for any of them finds this page: U.S. Atomic Energy Commission · U. S. Atomic Energy Commission.

Where this comes from

This page brings together every document in our library that names Atomic Energy Commission, across collections. Titles and affiliations are taken from the documents themselves, and units and subsidiaries are grouped under the company they belong to.