Return to Index In 1949, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
created what is now the Idaho National Engineering and
Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) as the National Reactor Testing
Station to build and test nuclear power reactors.The INEEL
occupies approximately 2300 km2 (890 mi2) of the upper Snake
River Plain in southeastern Idaho. Over the life of the INEEL,
52 types of reactors, associated research centers, and waste
handling areas have been constructed and tested. The INEEL
serves as a multiprogram national laboratory that delivers
science and engineering solutions to the world's environmental,
energy, and security challenges in four core areas: There are
nine primary facility areas and three smaller secondary
facilities at the INEEL and in Idaho Falls. Six of the nine
primary facilities and the secondary facilities are operated by
the INEEL Management and Operating contractor, Bechtel BWXT,
Idaho, LLC. The University of Chicago, British Nuclear Fuels
Limited, Inc. and Bechtel Bettis, Inc. operate three ad