A Report on the International Control of Atomic Energy

When the United Nations was formed at the end of World War II, an international forum was established in which the question of atomic energy could be addressed. Then Secretary of State James F. Byrnes appointed a committee to develop an American policy on the international management of atomic energy. Its chair, Undersecretary of State Dean Acheson, realized his committee needed assistance from a board of consultants with the necessary time and skills to work this large issue.

The Board of Consultants was lead by David Lilienthal, head of the Tennessee Valley Authority. Other members included Chester Barnard, a senior leader from the world of business; Charles A. Thomas of Monsanto Chemical; Harry A. Winne of General Motors; and the already legendary J. Robert Oppenheimer of the Manhattan Project.

• Foreword
• Letter of Transmittal
• Press Release
• Introduction
• Section I: Background of the Problem
• Section II: Principal Considerations in Developing a System of Safeguards
• • Chapter I: The Problem Has Definable Boundaries
  • Chapter II: The Adequacy of Present Scientific Knowledge
  • Chapter III: Constructive Applications for Atomic Energy
  • Chapter IV: The Elimination of International Rivalry
  • Chapter V: "Safe" and "Dangerous" Activities
• Section III: Security Through International Cooperative Development: Introduction
• • Chapter I: Functions of Atomic Development Authority
  • Chapter II: Organization and Policies of Atomic Development Authority
• Section IV: The Transition for International Control

The texts have been taken from A Report on the International Control of Atomic Energy. Prepared for the Secretary of State's Committee on Atomic Energy. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C., March 16, 1946. Department of State. Publication 2498 [Reprint]. The 9 April 1946 press release No. 235 is reproduced from Reader on Nuclear Nonproliferation. Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service. [Washington: US GPO, December 1980].