Presented by the Atomic Industrial Forum Inc. and the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Atomic Power Today: Service With Safety is a 1966 film that shows viewers how an atomic energy plant works and how such a plant comes into being, from the application process with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) through construction and final safety inspections. The film discusses how atomic fuel is used to generate electricity, the barriers and safeguards to prevent radioactive contamination, and is designed to show how atomic energy utilities are carefully regulated and safeguarded. The film opens with a montage of shots showing how Americans use electricity: there is footage of bridges, the Statue of Liberty, appliances being used, and more. The film mentions other sources of electricity, from hydroelectric dams (01:26) to coal-powered energy plants (01:49). Coal is moved onto a grinder at a plant (02:27). Trains haul coal to various plants. At an atomic energy plant, an employee inserts an atomic rod into a fuel assembly (03:33). An atomic fuel assembly is moved inside a warehouse (04:00). Graphics and animation are used to explain how atomic energy is used to generate heat to create electric power, and how control rods are maneuvered in a fuel core to regulate temperature. A reactor control operator adjusts the control rods from the control room (07:06). Used fuel assemblies are stored underwater (08:45); they are then transferred into a container (still underwater), lifted from the pool, and shipped to a processing plant by truck. There is a shot of a nuclear powerplant during winter (10:05; 10:51), and during spring (11:09). The film shows some of the safeguards for a reactor malfunction (12:20), including the sealed vapor container that houses the reactor. Men review designs for an atomic energy powerplant (13:20). A man walks into the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission building (14:04). AEC regulatory staff examine designs for a proposed atomic powerplant. At what appears to be a courthouse, a public hearing is held for the construction of an atomic powerplant (16:11). Cranes and other heavy equipment begin building the foundation for the atomic powerplant (16:52). Inspectors from the AEC look at the nearly completed steel and concrete building that will house the nuclear reactor (18:04). Hundreds of miles away, the reactor head is forged (18:27). The nuclear reactor arrives at the new plant and is installed (18:44). Men double-check measurements of the plant for quality control. Plant operators are trained in the control room (19:58). A truck hauls the first shipment of nuclear material to the reactor (20:14). Men move fuel assemblies underwater, so they can be loaded into the reactor (21:23). The film then shows various shots of the atomic energy plant, including an aerial view of the plant (22:48). There is additional footage of other atomic energy plants across the U.S. and scenes of neighboring farms and communities. A man fishes on a small lake next to an atomic energy powerplant (24:20). The film ends with a montage of shots similar to how the film began.

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