Classification 116: Atomic Energy Act - Applicant

This classification was established in 1946 to investigate applicants and employees under the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 and its amendments. Under this act the FBI had primary responsibility for investigating not only Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) personnel and applicants but also the employees of contractors and licensees who had access to restricted data (information on the manufacture and utilization of atomic weapons, the production of fissionable material, and its use in the production of power, except for information the AEC decides may be published without harm to the common defense and security).

In 1947 the FBI agreed to investigate the staff of the Congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy and to investigate whole companies and all their top officers at the AEC's request. This created an enormous volume of applicant/employee cases. The case load became so great that in 1951 the Bureau began to lobby for changes in the law. In October 1952 Public Law 29 transferred many cases to the Civil Service Comission (CSC) and left the FBI with cases of persons in positions of importance or sensitivity or where the CSC developed evidence of disloyalty.

NARA online catalog descriptions of holdings for Classification 116: Atomic Energy Act - Applicant

Some records under Classification 116: Atomic Energy Act - Applicant are not yet described in NARA's online catalog. Please contact NARA's Special Access Program at specialaccess_FOIA@nara.gov with your reference request.

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