National Atomic Energy Commission

The National Atomic Energy Commission (, CNEA) is the Argentine government agency in charge of nuclear energy research and development.

The agency was created on May 31, 1950 with the mission of developing and controlling nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in the country.

CNEA's facilities include the Centro Atómico Bariloche (in San Carlos de Bariloche), Centro Atómico Constituyentes (in the city of Buenos Aires), and Centro Atómico Ezeiza (in Ezeiza, Buenos Aires Province). Research reactors exist in all of these sites.

Argentina currently has two operational nuclear power plants,: the 335-MWe Atucha I built by Germany's (Siemens) and the 600-MWe Embalse built by Canadian CANDU. A third one, the 692-MWe Atucha II, has been delayed by financial and political problems.

History

Officially established by President Juan Perón's Decree 10936, CNEA filled the need for a state organ to oversee the funding of the Huemul Project in Bariloche. Before CNEA came into being, the project was funded by the Dirección de Migraciones. In practice CNEA had only four members (Juan Domingo Perón, González, Mendé and Ronald Richter). In 1951, decree 9697 created another agency, the Dirección Nacional de la Energía Atómica (DNEA), also under González, to do research on atomic energy in Buenos Aires (González left CNEA in April 1952 and was replaced by Iraolagoitía) until 1955. After being assessed by two review panels in 1952, the Huemul Project was closed and Richter was no...
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