July 1957
On July 12, 1957, the Sodium Reactor Experiment in Santa Susana, California
generated the first power from a civilian nuclear reactor. Southern California
Edison bought the electricity generated by the sodium-graphite 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.
This reactor used sodium rather than water as a coolant. The reactor provided
power until 1966.
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