On a cold December afternoon in 1951, four ordinary 200-watt lightbulbs glowed in a modest brick building near Arco, Idaho. This seemingly small feat represented a monumental scientific achievement—the first generation of electricity from nuclear energy. Behind the unassuming scene stood the Experimental Breeder Reactor-I (EBR-I), a pioneering facility that helped lay the groundwork for the nuclear age.

Location and Origins: A Reactor in the Idaho Sagebrush

EBR-I was located on the Idaho National Reactor Testing Station (now the Idaho National Laboratory), a sprawling facility established by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) to develop and test nuclear reactor technologies. Situated in the remote southeast Idaho desert, the site offered isolation and security for these groundbreaking experiments.

Construction of the EBR-I began in 1949, spearheaded by scientists who had been instrumental in the Manhattan Project, the top-secret World War II initiative that developed the first atomic bombs. Among the key figures were Harold Lichtenberger, the project manager, Walter Zinn, a renowned nuclear physicist, and Aaron Novick, a specialist in reactor design. Their goal was ambitious: to demonstrate the viability of breeder reactors, which could revolutionize nuclear energy by producing more fuel than they consumed.

Breeder Reactors: Expanding the Potential of Nuclear Power

The concept of a breeder reactor was rooted in addressing the limited supply of uranium-235, the isotope crucial for sustaining nuclear reactions. Natural uranium is composed of about 99% uranium-238, a stable isotope that cannot undergo fission under standard conditions. Breeder reactors like EBR-I were designed to transform uranium-238 into plutonium-239, a fissionable material.

This transformation required a sophisticated sequence of nuclear reactions. In the EBR-I core, uranium-238 absorbed high-energy neutrons, resulting in the formation of neptunium-239, which quickly decayed into plutonium-239. The plutonium then served as fuel for sustained fission reactions, generating heat and additional neutrons to perpetuate the process.

A critical component of the reactor was its liquid metal coolant, a eutectic mixture of sodium (Na) and potassium (K) known as NaK. This alloy was chosen for its excellent thermal conductivity and low melting point, enabling efficient heat transfer within the reactor core. After absorbing heat from the nuclear reactions, the NaK coolant circulated to a secondary heat exchanger, where it transferred the thermal energy to a water-steam system. The resulting steam turned turbines to produce electricity.

The Moment of First Light: December 20, 1951

The culmination of years of design, construction, and testing came on December 20, 1951, at precisely 1:50 p.m. Inside the compact brick building, Harold Lichtenberger flipped a switch, allowing the electricity generated by the reactor to flow to four suspended lightbulbs. Witnesses, many of them seasoned physicists, observed the event with measured enthusiasm. The moment was significant but understated, reflecting the pragmatic focus of the team.

“When I turned the switch, I guess I was more interested in how the circuit breakers would function than I was in the significance of the test,” Lichtenberger later recounted. The real excitement for the team lay in verifying the reactor’s primary objective: demonstrating the efficacy of the breeder process and the conversion of uranium-238 into plutonium-239.

The following day, the EBR-I reactor achieved an output of 100 kilowatts, enough to power the building’s electrical systems. This marked another milestone, proving that nuclear power could provide practical amounts of energy beyond experimental conditions.

The Ebr-I Legacy: Laying the Foundation for Nuclear Energy

The success of the EBR-I experiment had far-reaching implications. By demonstrating the feasibility of breeder reactors, the project expanded the horizons of nuclear energy at a time when the world sought innovative solutions to growing energy demands. The reactor’s ability to produce more fuel than it consumed hinted at a sustainable nuclear future.

In 1953, EBR-I achieved another historic milestone: it became the first reactor to use plutonium as a fuel source. These breakthroughs underscored the versatility of nuclear technology and its potential applications.

Despite these advancements, interest in breeder reactors waned in the 1960s. The discovery of vast uranium deposits and the development of more efficient enrichment techniques reduced the urgency for breeder technology. Additionally, concerns about the proliferation risks associated with plutonium dampened enthusiasm for widespread adoption.

Today, EBR-I remains a landmark in the history of science and technology. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966, the facility stands as a museum open to the public. Visitors to the site can see the original reactor, its instrumentation, and the historic lightbulbs that marked the dawn of nuclear-generated electricity.

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The Idaho Division of Human Resources is recommending the Idaho Legislature approve salary increases of 4% or $1.25 per hour for all permanent state employees.

Idaho Division of Human Resources Administrator Janelle White made the recommendation Friday during a meeting of the Idaho Legislature’s Change in Employee Compensation Committee meeting at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.

White recommended the 4% salary increase, along with flexibility to distribute the funds for recruitment and retention. She also recommended increasing the salary structure midpoints for positions including public safety and nursing and recommended a 5.5% market-based increase for the salary structure for IT and engineering positions.

White said the Division of Human Resources issued the recommendation after receiving testimony from more than 1,700 state employees.

“Across all pay ranges, employees consistently cite rising cost of living as a major concern with current wages failing to keep pace,” White said. “They are concerned about pay compression, which is where new or less experienced employees earn as much or more than more tenured employees. Turnover and vacant positions are leading to increased workloads and burnout.”

Pay and benefits are important for several reasons. The state is one of the largest employers in Idaho, and these decisions directly affect thousands of Idaho families.

Additionally, many state agencies struggle with retention because state employees in many fields make far less than their counterparts at private businesses and even at city and county jobs, White said. Last year’s turnover rate was 19.2%.
The situation is exacerbated because of inflation and surging increases in housing costs in Idaho.

“In the last decade, inflation has risen by more than 30% while the average base salary for state employees has only increased by 4.2%,” White said.

“As a result, employees are finding it harder to afford basic expenses such as housing, food, transportation, health care and other essential goods and services,” White added. “As Idahoans continue to rely on the contributions of these dedicated individuals, it is crucial to recognize and appreciate the invaluable role they play in our society and to ensure they can provide necessities for their families.”

Part-time Idaho legislators set to receive larger pay increase than state employees

Meanwhile, Idaho legislators are set to receive a much higher salary increase next year of 25%.

Idaho citizens committee approves legislative salary increases

Last month, a different committee – the Citizens Committee on Legislative Compensation – approved increasing the annual salary for Idaho legislators from $19,913 to $25,000, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported. Rather than a full time legislative body, the Idaho Legislature is a part-time, seasonal legislature that generally meets for about 80 to 90 days each year.

Some Republican legislators have vowed to fight their pay raise.  

Low pay for Idaho state employees can lead to high turnover

White told legislators there is a high cost to continually recruit and retrain new employees to replace the state employees who quit their jobs to make higher pay doing the same kind of work somewhere else. 

State employees make an average of $20,000 less per year than they would doing the same job for a different employer, White said. Over the course of a 30-year career, that would cost an average state employee $600,000 in lost wages to work for the state.

“When employees leave the state, it has a profound and lasting impact on the bottom line and our ability to deliver services,” White said. “The hidden cost of turnover is frequently overlooked, yet its consequences are very costly to the state. A general rule of thumb is that it costs an organization one to three times an employee’s annual salary to replace them.”
Nothing was settled Friday. 

The Change in Employee Compensation Committee is scheduled to meet again Jan. 7 and Jan. 9, and the Idaho Legislature will have the final say on pay and benefits for state employees during the upcoming 2025 legislative session.