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On July 17, 1955, Arco, Idaho became the first U.S. town to be powered by
nuclear energy. The demonstration lasted for one hour in the 1,350-person
community. The National Reactor Testing Station, now called the Idaho National
Engineering Laboratory, supplied the power from its Borax-III reactor. It was
part of the Atomic Energy Commission's (AEC) Five-Year Reactor Development
Program in the mid-1950's. The AEC tested five types of experimental reactors.
The Borax-III was an early prototype of a boiling water reactor, a type of
reactor which still produces electricity for utilities today.
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