EBR One to open for tours Friday
The Idaho National Laboratory will open the doors of Experimental Breeder Reactor One (EBR 1) Friday.
The historic reactor was completed in 1951 and became the first nuclear reactor to produce a usable amount of electricity on December 20 of that year. In 1953, the reactor confirmed that a high-energy neutron range reactor could create more fuel than its operation consumes. The process is now known as “breeding”.
EBR 1 operated until 1963 and was decommissioned in 1964.
On August 25, 1966, President Lyndon Johnson and Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Glenn Seabord dedicated the facility as a Registered National Historic Landmark.
Although winter is its off-season, EBR 1 will be open for the day January 11. Guided tours will start on the hour and self-guided tours are also available. There is no charge.
The landmark is located on U.S. 20 about 50 miles west of Idaho Falls.
EBR 1 is one of 52 different nuclear reactors that have been built at INL. As part of its 70-year anniversary, INL plans to highlight the background of each of those reactors through 2019.
