Commercial Atomic Power

The suggestion that breeder piles might ultimately be owned and operated, under government licencing, by industrial companies to produce both plutonium for the government and electric power for consumers is reported to have greatly stimulated the interest of industry in the applications of atomic energy. Certainly the crowded corridors of the Waldorf‐Astoria during the National Industrial Conference Board meetings in New York City last October suggested the opposite of apathy concerning “Atomic Energy in Industry”, which was the conference theme. At least one spokesman for industry, however, has indicated that cost considerations will continue for some time to stand in the way of any large‐scale commercial investments in the field.