United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)

The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government. It formed in 1946 and primarily aimed to to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. The McMahon/Atomic Energy Act, which created the Atomic Energy Commission, gave it powers of regulation over the entire field of nuclear science and technology, transferring the controlof atmoic energy from military to civilian hands.

During the 1960s growing criticism suggested that the AECs regulations were insufficiently rigorous in several areas, such as radiation protection standards, nuclear reactor safety, plant sitting, and environmental protection.

U.S. Congress decided to abolish the AEC by 1974 after the AECs regulatory programs had come under such strong attack. The Energy Reorganisation Act of 1974 abolished the AEC and assigned its functions to two new agencies: the Energy Research and Develop,ent Administration and the Nuclear Reulatory Commission.

It was headquartered in Washington, D.C. until 1957, then in Germantown, Maryland until its dissolution.