Quote :

"Government Gives Up on Cleaning Scottish Nuclear Catastrophe http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/sep/21/scottish-nuclear-leak-clean-up?newsfeed=true"

did you even read the article? It doesn't say they've given up on doing any cleaning. It said they've given up on an absurd definition of a "pristine" cleanup, mainly because they said it would do more harm than good. What they've basically said is that they aren't going to go out and dredge the fuck out of the shoreline in the name of getting every single last particle out. instead, they'll do as much as reasonably possible.

Quote :

"I didn't know the relative outputs of the plants, so I just made the statement and relied on you guys to tell me why I was wrong. Thanks, as always."

so you admit that you were just talking out your ass. good.

9/21/2011 10:29:10 PM

I've avoided this thread for months in fear of getting mired in refuting ridiculous amounts of misinformation and misinterpretation. I checked tonight to see if perhaps there was intelligent discussion I'd been depriving myself of but alas, such is not the case. It's disgusting to see an industry with such potential to advance the human condition grow so slowly because of sensationalist and ignorant reporting and policy-making.

Maybe I should become a rockstar advocate one day instead of doing R&D. Like the dude from "thank you for smoking"

9/22/2011 1:20:14 AM

Massive Anti-Nuclear Protests in Tokyo (In a country that doesn't like to protest.)
http://www.economist.com/node/21530147

Near Catastrophe Aboard Russian Nuke Sub
http://en.ria.ru/mlitary_news/20110922/167044021.html

Fukushima Radiation Found in California
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2011/09/21/fukushima-fallout-in-california-waters-a-threat/

Petition To Shutdown All Fukushima-style Reactors in U.S.
http://tomsriver.patch.com/articles/thousands-petition-for-suspension-of-oyster-creek

[Edited on September 22, 2011 at 11:44 AM. Reason : come at me bro]

9/22/2011 11:42:55 AM

you may appreciate this smc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2SgonaD4U0&feature=player_embedded

9/22/2011 11:49:18 AM

Quote :

"Near Catastrophe Aboard Russian Nuke Sub http://en.ria.ru/mlitary_news/20110922/167044021.html"

from the actual article: minor damage to outer hull. aka, NOT a "near catastrophe". and what does a mobile reactor have to do with "obsolete reactors in fault zones"? Are you arguing that an earthquake is going to fuck up a sub?

Quote :

"Fukushima Radiation Found in California http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2011/09/21/fukushima-fallout-in-california-waters-a-threat/"

woopty.

Quote :

"Petition To Shutdown All Fukushima-style Reactors in U.S. http://tomsriver.patch.com/articles/thousands-petition-for-suspension-of-oyster-creek"

congrats. you've got company in your failboat

9/22/2011 2:23:55 PM

^^ I like the glitter-covered gas masks on the little girls. Nevermind that gas masks don't help against radiation much.

^Submarines are very sensitive to earthquake damage. Hundreds of little mobile nuclear disasters waiting to crash into each other or be destroyed by pressure waves or just sink and contaminate the oceans.

In the 2004 Tsunami American, Indian and Chinese submarines were damaged.
http://forum.keypublishing.com/archive/index.php?t-37521.html

9/22/2011 3:30:35 PM

Boy, I sure am glad we can't measure the minute physical impacts of most industrial pollutants from across the Pacific ocean. smc wouldn't be able to get out of bed in the morning.

9/22/2011 10:20:56 PM

and how

9/23/2011 12:35:52 AM

Quote :

"Submarines are very sensitive to earthquake damage. Hundreds of little mobile nuclear disasters waiting to crash into each other or be destroyed by pressure waves or just sink and contaminate the oceans."

because every time there's an earthquake, we always hear tons of news reports about all the subs that sank or were damaged. i mean, there's several earthquakes out in the ocean every year. and there's all those subs sinking out there! and subs are all just lined up beside each other out in the open ocean like it's rush-hour traffic in Atlanta. yep. it must be wonderful being in your fucked up mind

9/24/2011 2:03:20 AM

as someone who knows nothing about the mechanics of subs, I'd be interested to hear what the dangers of pressure waves are.

I'd imagine that it's possible that a sub could be vastly safer than things above ground when it comes to earthquakes. They're already at a high pressure, the issue will be it changes from an isotropic pressure to a tensile stress, just slightly. I don't know if that would matter.

9/24/2011 9:53:37 AM

Quote :

"Can a tsumani hurt a submerged sub....yes very much so. A tsunami is, essentially, a very large wave generated by a shock event and as much as it deposits water ashore when it breaks it carries that water as it travels. This means there are two effects at work that can threaten a sub in the waves path. First is the shock pulse - a pressure wave travelling at many hundreds of metres per second that will hit a hull much like the the shock wave from a depth charge. Second is the extra volume of water the wave carries over the sub. This has the effect of adding the wave mass to that of the water already above the sub and can lead to a sudden increase of crush forces on the hull for a short period. Turning into the wave and going shallower will mitigate both effects on the hull, but, if the sub is caught deep and broadside on to the wave it could mean big problems."

9/24/2011 10:33:35 AM

average tsunami heights in deep water are in the range of feet, at most, IIRC, so the pressure from extra water height" is absolute bullshit. It would only apply if the sub were magically at crush depth.

as for the shock "pulse", I'd need to see data to see how much extra pressure it's actually adding, assuming that it is even a real phenomenon. Even still, given that most subs aren't operating too close to their crush pressure, it's probably still negligible.

9/25/2011 9:59:13 PM

Yeah, "submarines are very sensitive to earthquake damage" smacked of unsupported bullshit to me too. How many submarines have been taken out by an earthquake in the history of this planet? There have been a lot of earthquakes since the advent of submarines.

9/25/2011 11:25:13 PM

List of Nuclear Submarine Accidents:
United States

Thresher (SSN-593), the first submarine in its class, sank April 10, 1963 during deep-diving trials after flooding, loss of propulsion, and an attempt to blow the emergency ballast tanks failed, causing it to exceed crush depth. All 129 men on board perished. Location: 50 km (27 nmi) east of Cape Cod.
Scorpion (SSN-589), a Skipjack-class submarine, sank May 22, 1968, evidently due to implosion upon reaching its crush depth. What caused the Scorpion to descend to its crush depth is not known. All 99 men died. Location: 740 kilometres (400 nmi) southwest of the Azores.

[edit] USSR
List of sunken nuclear submarines is located in Northwestern Federal District
K-27
K-141
K-159
The location of sunken submarines in the Arctic

K-27: The only Project 645 submarine, equipped with a liquid metal cooled reactor, was irreparably damaged by a reactor accident (control rod failure) May 24, 1968. 9 were killed in the reactor accident. After shutting down the reactor and sealing the compartment, the Soviet Navy scuttled her in shallow water of the Kara Sea on September 6, 1982,[1] contrary to the recommendation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).[2]
K-8: A Project 627 November class submarine was lost April 11, 1970 while being towed in rough seas following a fire on board. The vessel was initially evacuated, but 52 reembarked for the towing operation. All hands on board were lost (52), while 73 crewmen survived on the rescue vessel.[1] Location: Bay of Biscay, 490 kilometres (260 nmi) northwest of Spain in the North Atlantic Ocean.
K-219: A Project 667A Yankee I class sub was damaged in a missile explosion October 3, 1986, then sank suddenly while being towed after all crew had transferred off. 6 crew members were killed. Location: 950 kilometres (510 nmi) east of Bermuda in the North Atlantic Ocean.
K-278 Komsomolets: The only Mike-class sub built sank due to a raging fire April 7, 1989. All but 5 evacuated prior to sinking. 42 perished, many from smoke inhalation and exposure to the cold waters of the Barents Sea. A total of 27 crew members survived.

[edit] Russian Federation

K-141 Kursk: The Oscar II class sub sank in the Barents sea on August 12, 2000 after an explosion on board. See Russian submarine Kursk explosion. All 118 men on board were lost. Location: sank in Barents Sea but all but extreme bow section later salvaged.
K-159: The hulk of the decommissioned Soviet-era November class submarine sank August 28, 2003 when a storm ripped away the pontoons necessary to keep it afloat under tow. 9 men perished in the accident. Location: Barents Sea.

9/26/2011 9:14:50 AM

And what do those incidents have to do with earthquakes?

9/26/2011 9:16:51 AM

List of Civilian Nuclear Accidents:
1950s

December 12, 1952 — INES Level 5[citation needed] - Chalk River, Ontario, Canada - Reactor core damaged
A reactor shutoff rod failure, combined with several operator errors, led to a major power excursion of more than double the reactor's rated output at AECL's NRX reactor. The operators purged the reactor's heavy water moderator, and the reaction stopped in under 30 seconds. A cover gas system failure led to hydrogen explosions, which severely damaged the reactor core. The fission products from approximately 30 kg of uranium were released through the reactor stack. Irradiated light-water coolant leaked from the damaged coolant circuit into the reactor building; some 4,000 cubic meters were pumped via pipeline to a disposal area to avoid contamination of the Ottawa River. Subsequent monitoring of surrounding water sources revealed no contamination. No immediate fatalities or injuries resulted from the incident; a 1982 followup study of exposed workers showed no long-term health effects. Future U.S. President Jimmy Carter, then a Lieutenant in the US Navy, was among the cleanup crew.[1]
May 24, 1958 — INES Level needed - Chalk River, Ontario, Canada - Fuel damaged
Due to inadequate cooling a damaged uranium fuel rod caught fire and was torn in two as it was being removed from the core at the NRU reactor. The fire was extinguished, but not before radioactive combustion products contaminated the interior of the reactor building and, to a lesser degree, an area surrounding the laboratory site. Over 600 people were employed in the clean-up.[2][3]
October 25, 1958 - INES Level needed - Vinca, Yugoslavia - Criticality excursion, irradiation of personnel
During a subcritical counting experiment a power buildup went undetected at the Vinca Nuclear Institute's zero-power natural uranium heavy water moderated research reactor.[4] Saturation of radiation detection chambers gave the researchers false readings and the level of moderator in the reactor tank was raised triggering a criticality excursion which a researcher detected from the smell of ozone.[5] Six scientists received radiation doses of 2—4 Sv (200—400 rems) [6] (p. 96). An experimental bone marrow transplant treatment was performed on all of them in France and five survived, despite the ultimate rejection of the marrow in all cases. A single woman among them later had a child without apparent complications. This was one of the first nuclear incidents investigated by then newly-formed IAEA.[7]

July 26, 1959 — INES Level needed - Santa Susana Field Laboratory, California, United States - Partial meltdown
A partial core meltdown may have taken place when the Sodium Reactor Experiment (SRE) experienced a power excursion that caused severe overheating of the reactor core, resulting in the melting of one-third of the nuclear fuel and significant releases of radioactive gases.[8]

[edit] 1960s

April 3, 1960 - Waltz Mill, a core melt accident occurred at the Westinghouse Waltz Mill test reactor in Westmoreland County. From what information remains of the event, one fuel element melted resulting in the disposition of two million gallons of contaminated water generated during the accident. At least a portion of the water was retained on site in lagoons, a condition which eventually lead to detectable Sr-90 in ground water plus contaminated soil. The site is currently undergoing cleanup.


July 24, 1964 - INES Level needed - Charlestown, Rhode Island, United States - Criticality Accident

An error by a worker at a United Nuclear Corporation fuel facility led to an accidental criticality. Robert Peabody, believing he was using a diluted uranium solution, accidentally put concentrated solution into an agitation tank containing sodium carbonate. Peabody was exposed to 10,000rad (100Gy) of radiation and died two days later. Ninety minutes after the criticality, a plant manager and another administrator returned to the building and were exposed to 100rad (1Gy), but suffered no ill effects.[9][10]

October 5, 1966 — INES Level needed - Monroe, Michigan, United States - Partial meltdown

A sodium cooling system malfunction caused a partial meltdown at the Enrico Fermi demonstration nuclear breeder reactor (Enrico Fermi-1 fast breeder reactor). The accident was attributed to a zirconium fragment that obstructed a flow-guide in the sodium cooling system. Two of the 105 fuel assemblies melted during the incident, but no contamination was recorded outside the containment vessel.[11]

Winter 1966-1967 (date unknown) – INES Level needed – location unknown – loss of coolant accident
The Soviet icebreaker Lenin, the USSR’s first nuclear-powered surface ship, suffered a major accident (possibly a meltdown — exactly what happened remains a matter of controversy in the West) in one of its three reactors. To find the leak the crew broke through the concrete and steel radiation shield with sledgehammers, causing irreparable damage. It was rumored that around 30 of the crew were killed. The ship was abandoned for a year to allow radiation levels to drop before the three reactors were removed, to be dumped into the Tsivolko Fjord on the Kara Sea, along with 60% of the fuel elements packed in a separate container. The reactors were replaced with two new ones, and the ship re-entered service in 1970, serving until 1989.

May 1967 — INES Level needed - Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, United Kingdom - Partial meltdown

Graphite debris partially blocked a fuel channel causing a fuel element to melt and catch fire at the Chapelcross nuclear power station. Contamination was confined to the reactor core. The core was repaired and restarted in 1969, operating until the plant's shutdown in 2004.[12][13]

January 21, 1969 — INES Level: None - Lucens, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland - Explosion

A total loss of coolant led to a power excursion and explosion of an experimental nuclear reactor in a large cave at Lucens. The underground location of this reactor acted like a containment building and prevented any outside contamination. The cavern was heavily contaminated and was sealed. No injuries or fatalities resulted.[14][15]
De-fuelling and partial dismantling occurred from 1969 to 1973. In 1988, the lowest caverns were filled with concrete, and a regulatory permit was issued in December 1990. Currently, the archives of the Canton of Vaud are located in the caverns.[16]

[edit] 1970s

December 7, 1975 – INES Level 3 - Greifswald, Germany (then East Germany) - Partly damaged

Operators disabled three of six cooling pumps' electrical supply circuits to test emergency shutoffs. Instead of the expected automatic shutdown, a fourth pump failed causing excessive heating which damaged ten fuel rods. The accident was attributed to sticky relay contacts and generally poor construction in the Soviet-built reactor.[17]

February 22, 1977 – INES Level 4 - Jaslovské Bohunice, Czechoslovakia - Fuel damaged

Operators neglected to remove moisture-absorbing materials from a fuel rod assembly before loading it into the KS 150 reactor at power plant A-1. The accident resulted in damaged fuel integrity, extensive corrosion damage of fuel cladding and release of radioactivity into the plant area. The affected reactor was decommissioned following this accident.[18]

March 28, 1979 – INES Level 5[citation needed] - Middletown, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States - Partial meltdown

Equipment failures and worker mistakes contributed to a loss of coolant and a partial core meltdown at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station 15 km (9 miles) southeast of Harrisburg. While the reactor was extensively damaged, on-site radiation exposure was under 100 millirems (less than annual exposure due to natural sources). Area residents received a smaller exposure of 1 millirem (10 µSv), or about 1/3 the dose from eating a banana per day for one year. There were no fatalities. Follow-up radiological studies predict between zero and one long-term cancer fatality.[19][20][21]

See also: Three Mile Island accident

[edit] 1980s

March 13, 1980 - INES Level 4 - Orléans, France - Nuclear materials leak

A brief power excursion in Reactor A2 led to a rupture of fuel bundles and a minor release (8 x 1010 Bq) of nuclear materials at the Saint-Laurent Nuclear Power Plant. The reactor was repaired and continued operation until its decommissioning in 1992.[22]

March, 1981 — INES Level 2 - Tsuruga, Japan - Radioactive materials released into Sea of Japan + Overexposure of workers

More than 100 workers were exposed to doses of up to 155 millirem per day radiation during repairs of the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant, violating the Japan Atomic Power Company's limit of 100 millirems (1 mSv) per day.[23]

January 25, 1982 - INES Level unknown - Ontario, New York - Radioactive materials released

A steam pipe burst at the Ginna Nuclear Generating Station, resulting in a loss of coolant and gasses were intentionally vented to the atmosphere to reduce risks of explosion.

September 23, 1983 — INES Level 4 - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Accidental criticality

An operator error during a fuel plate reconfiguration in an experimental test reactor led to an excursion of 3×1017 fissions at the RA-2 facility. The operator absorbed 2000 rad (20 Gy) of gamma and 1700 rad (17 Gy) of neutron radiation which killed him two days later. Another 17 people outside of the reactor room absorbed doses ranging from 35 rad (0.35 Gy) to less than 1 rad (0.01 Gy).[24] pg103[25]

April 26, 1986 — INES Level 7 - Prypiat, Ukraine (then USSR) - Power excursion, explosion, complete meltdown

9/26/2011 9:16:58 AM

An inadequate reactor safety system[26] led to an uncontrolled power excursion, causing a severe steam explosion, meltdown and release of radioactive material at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant located approximately 100 kilometers north-northwest of Kiev. Approximately fifty fatalities (mostly cleanup personnel) resulted from the accident and the immediate aftermath. An additional nine fatal cases of thyroid cancer in children in the Chernobyl area have been attributed to the accident. The explosion and combustion of the graphite reactor core spread radioactive material over much of Europe. 100,000 people were evacuated from the areas immediately surrounding Chernobyl in addition to 300,000 from the areas of heavy fallout in Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. An "Exclusion Zone" was created surrounding the site encompassing approximately 1,000 mi² (3,000 km²) and deemed off-limits for human habitation for an indefinite period. Several studies by governments, UN agencies and environmental groups have estimated the consequences and eventual number of casualties. Their findings are subject to controversy.

See also: Chernobyl disaster

May 4, 1986 – INES Level 3-5 (need ref) - Hamm-Uentrop, Germany (then West Germany) - Fuel damaged

A spherical fuel pebble became lodged in the pipe used to deliver fuel elements to the reactor at an experimental 300-megawatt THTR-300 HTGR. Attempts by an operator to dislodge the fuel pebble damaged its cladding, releasing radiation detectable up to two kilometers from the reactor.[27]

October 19, 1989 – INES Level 3 - Vandellos Nuclear Power Plant, Spain -fire in one of its two turbogenerators

After the fire in the turbogenerators the Spanish comission determined a large list of issues in the plant that was closed by the owners due to economical unviability.

[edit] 1990s

April 6, 1993 — INES Level 4 - Tomsk, Russia - Explosion

A pressure buildup led to an explosive mechanical failure in a 34 cubic meter stainless steel reaction vessel buried in a concrete bunker under building 201 of the radiochemical works at the Tomsk-7 Siberian Chemical Enterprise plutonium reprocessing facility. The vessel contained a mixture of concentrated nitric acid, uranium (8757 kg), plutonium (449 g) along with a mixture of radioactive and organic waste from a prior extraction cycle. The explosion dislodged the concrete lid of the bunker and blew a large hole in the roof of the building, releasing approximately 6 GBq of Pu 239 and 30 TBq of various other radionuclides into the environment. The contamination plume extended 28 km NE of building 201, 20 km beyond the facility property. The small village of Georgievka (pop. 200) was at the end of the fallout plume, but no fatalities, illnesses or injuries were reported. The accident exposed 160 on-site workers and almost two thousand cleanup workers to total doses of up to 50 mSv (the threshold limit for radiation workers is 100 mSv per 5 years).[28][29][30]

June, 1999 — INES Level 2[31] - Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan - Control rod malfunction

Operators attempting to insert one control rod during an inspection neglected procedure and instead withdrew three causing a 15 minute uncontrolled sustained reaction at the number 1 reactor of Shika Nuclear Power Plant. The Hokuriku Electric Power Company who owned the reactor did not report this incident and falsified records, covering it up until March, 2007.[32]

September 30, 1999 — INES Level 4 - Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan - Accidental criticality

Inadequately trained part-time workers prepared a uranyl nitrate solution containing about 16.6 kg of uranium, which exceeded the critical mass, into a precipitation tank at a uranium reprocessing facility in Tokai-mura northeast of Tokyo, Japan. The tank was not designed to dissolve this type of solution and was not configured to prevent eventual criticality. Three workers were exposed to (neutron) radiation doses in excess of allowable limits. Two of these workers died. 116 other workers received lesser doses of 1 mSv or greater though not in excess of the allowable limit.[33][34][35][36]

See also: Tokaimura nuclear accident

[edit] 2000s

April 10, 2003 — INES Level 3 - Paks, Hungary - Fuel damaged

Partially spent fuel rods undergoing cleaning in a tank of heavy water ruptured and spilled fuel pellets at Paks Nuclear Power Plant. It is suspected that inadequate cooling of the rods during the cleaning process combined with a sudden influx of cold water thermally shocked fuel rods causing them to split. Boric acid was added to the tank to prevent the loose fuel pellets from achieving criticality. Ammonia and hydrazine were also added to absorb iodine-131.[37]

April 19, 2005 — INES Level 3 - Sellafield, England, United Kingdom - Nuclear material leak

20 metric tons of uranium and 160 kilograms of plutonium dissolved in 83,000 litres of nitric acid leaked over several months from a cracked pipe into a stainless steel sump chamber at the Thorp nuclear fuel reprocessing plant. The partially processed spent fuel was drained into holding tanks outside the plant.[38][39]

November 2005 — INES Level needed - Braidwood, Illinois, United States - Nuclear material leak

Tritium contamination of groundwater was discovered at Exelon's Braidwood station. Groundwater off site remains within safe drinking standards though the NRC is requiring the plant to correct any problems related to the release.[40]

March 6, 2006 — INES Level 2[41] - Erwin, Tennessee, United States - Nuclear material leak

Thirty-five litres of a highly enriched uranium solution leaked during transfer into a lab at Nuclear Fuel Services Erwin Plant. The incident caused a seven-month shutdown. A required public hearing on the licensing of the plant was not held due to the absence of public notification.[42][43][44][45]

[edit] 2010s
See also: Timeline of the Fukushima nuclear accidents

March 11–20, 2011 - INES Level 7[46](previously rating is 5[47]) as of April 12 (A final rating is expected after the situation has been completely resolved).
Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, Japan - partial meltdowns in multiple reactors [48]

Main article: Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

After the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, the emergency power supply of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant failed. This was followed by deliberate releases of radioactive gas from reactors 1 and 2 to relieve pressure. On March 12, triggered by falling water levels, a hydrogen explosion occurred at reactor 1, resulting in the collapse of the concrete outer structure.[49][50][51][52][53] Although the reactor containment itself was confirmed to be intact,[54][55][56] the hourly radiation from the plant reached 1,015 microsievert (0.1015 rem) - an amount equivalent to that allowable for ordinary people in one year."[57][58] Residents of the Fukushima area were advised to stay inside, close doors and windows, turn off air conditioning, and to cover their mouths with masks, towels or handkerchiefs as well as not to drink tap water.[59] By the evening of March 12, the exclusion zone had been extended to 20 kilometres (12 mi) around the plant[60] and 70,000 to 80,000 people had been evacuated from homes in northern Japan.[61] A second, nearly identical hydrogen explosion occurred in the reactor building for Unit 3 on March 14, with similar effects.[62] A third explosion in the “pressure suppression room” of Unit 2[63] initially was said not to have breached the reactor’s inner steel containment vessel,[64] but later reports indicated that the explosion damaged the steel containment structure of Unit 2 and much larger releases of radiation were expected than previously.[63]
Disposed rods of reactor Unit 4 were stored outside the reactor in a separate pool which ran dry, yielding fire and risk of serious contamination.[65]
Staff was brought down from 800 Fukushima, who have been named the "Fukushima 50" by the press.[65] Events are still developing.

March 11–13, 2011 - INES Level 3,[66] Fukushima II Nuclear Power Plant, Japan - Overheating, possible radioactivity emergency.

After the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, the cooling systems for three reactors (numbers 1, 2 and 4) of the Fukushima-Daini nuclear power plant were compromised due to damage from the tsunami.[67] Nuclear Engineering International reported that all four units were successfully automatically shut down, but emergency diesel generators at the site were Damaged by the 9.0 magnitude earthquake[68] People were evacuated around 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the plant. An evacuation order was issued, because of possible radioactive contamination.[69][70] Events are still developing.

9/26/2011 9:19:49 AM

That isn't really helping your thesis.

9/26/2011 9:20:18 AM

List of Military Nuclear Accidents:
1940s

June 23, 1942 – Leipzig, Germany (then Nazi Germany) – Steam explosion and reactor fire

Shortly after the Leipzig L-IV atomic pile — worked on by Werner Heisenberg and Robert Doepel — demonstrated Germany's first signs of neutron propagation, the device was checked for a possible heavy water leak. During the inspection, air leaked in, igniting the uranium powder inside. The burning uranium boiled the water jacket, generating enough steam pressure to blow the reactor apart. Burning uranium powder scattered throughout the lab causing a larger fire at the facility.[1][2]

A sketch of Louis Slotin's criticality accident used to determine exposure of those in the room at the time.

August 21, 1945 – Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA – Accidental criticality

Harry K. Daghlian, Jr. dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a plutonium core, inadvertently creating a critical mass at the Los Alamos Omega site. He quickly removed the brick, but was fatally irradiated, dying September 15.[3]

May 21, 1946 – Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA – Accidental criticality

While demonstrating his technique to visiting scientists at Los Alamos, Canadian physicist Louis Slotin manually assembled a critical mass of plutonium. A momentary slip of a screwdriver caused a prompt critical reaction. Slotin died on May 30 from massive radiation poisoning, with an estimated dose of 1,000 rads (rad), or 10 grays (Gy). Seven observers, who received doses as high as 166 rads, survived, yet three died within a few decades from conditions believed to be radiation-related.[4]

In the above incidents, both Daghlian (August 21, 1945 case) and Slotin (May 21, 1946 case), were working with the same bomb core which became known as the "demon core".
[edit] 1950s

February 13, 1950 – British Columbia, Canada – Non-nuclear detonation of a simulated atomic bomb

A USAF B-36 bomber, AF Ser. No. 44-92075, was flying a simulated combat mission from Eielson Air Force Base, near Fairbanks, Alaska, to Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas, carrying one weapon containing a dummy warhead. The warhead contained uranium instead of plutonium. After six hours of flight, the bomber experienced mechanical problems and was forced to shut down three of its six engines at an altitude of 12,000 feet (3,700 m). Fearing that severe weather and icing would jeopardize a safe emergency landing, the weapon was jettisoned over the Pacific Ocean from a height of 8,000 ft (2,400 m). The weapon's high explosives detonated upon impact. All of the sixteen crew members and one passenger were able to parachute from the plane and twelve were subsequently rescued from Princess Royal Island. The Pentagon's summary report does not mention if the weapon was later recovered.[5]

April 11, 1950 – Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA – Loss and recovery of nuclear materials

Three minutes after departure from Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque a USAF B-29 bomber carrying a nuclear weapon, four spare detonators, and a crew of thirteen crashed into a mountain near Manzano Base. The crash resulted in a fire which the New York Times reported as being visible from 15 miles (24 km). The bomb's casing was completely demolished and its high explosives ignited upon contact with the plane's burning fuel. However, according to the Department of Defense, the four spare detonators and all nuclear components were recovered. A nuclear detonation was not possible because, while on board, the weapon's core was not in the weapon for safety reasons. All thirteen crew members died.[5]

July 13, 1950 – Lebanon, Ohio, USA – Non-nuclear detonation of an atomic bomb

USAF B-50 aircraft on a training mission from Biggs Air Force Base with a nuclear weapon flew into the ground resulting in a high explosive detonation, but no nuclear explosion.[6]

November 10, 1950 – Rivière du Loup, Québec, Canada – Non-nuclear detonation of an atomic bomb

Returning one of several U.S. Mark 4 nuclear bombs secretly deployed in Canada, a USAF B-50 had engine trouble and jettisoned the weapon at 10,500 feet (3,200 m). The crew set the bomb to self-destruct at 2,500 ft (760 m) and dropped over the St. Lawrence River. The explosion shook area residents and scattered nearly 100 pounds (45 kg) of depleted uranium used in the weapon's tamper. The plutonium core ("pit") was not in the bomb at the time.[7]

The Castle Bravo fallout pattern.

March 1, 1954 – Bikini Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands (then Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands) – Nuclear test accident

During the Castle Bravo test of the first deployable hydrogen bomb, a miscalculation resulted in the explosion being over twice as large as predicted, with a total explosive force of 15 megatons of TNT (63 PJ). Of the total yield, 10 Mt (42 PJ) were from fission of the natural uranium tamper, but those fission reactions were quite dirty, producing a large amount of fallout. Combined with the much larger than expected yield and an unanticipated wind shift radioactive fallout was spread eastward onto the inhabited Rongelap and Rongerik Atolls. These islands were not evacuated before the explosion due to the financial cost involved, but many of the Marshall Islands natives have since suffered from radiation burns and radioactive dusting and also similar fates as the Japanese fishermen and their children and grandchildren have suffered from birth defects and have received little if any compensation from the federal government[citation needed]. A Japanese fishing boat, Daigo Fukuryu Maru/Lucky Dragon, also came into contact with the fallout, which caused many of the crew to take ill with one fatality. The test resulted in an international uproar and reignited Japanese concerns about radiation, especially with regard to the possible contamination of fish. Personal accounts of the Rongelap people can be seen in the documentary Children of Armageddon.

November 29, 1955 – Idaho, USA – Partial meltdown

Operator error led to a partial core meltdown in the experimental EBR-I breeder reactor, resulting in temporarily elevated radioactivity levels in the reactor building and necessitating significant repair.[8][9]

March 10, 1956 – Over the Mediterranean Sea – Nuclear weapons lost

A USAF B-47 Stratojet, AF Ser. No. 52-534, on a non-stop mission from MacDill Air Force Base to an overseas base descended into a cloud formation at 14,000 feet over the Mediterranean in preparation for an in-air refuelling and vanished while carrying two nuclear weapon cores. The plane was lost while flying through dense clouds, and the cores and other wreckage were never located.[10][11][12]

July 27, 1956 – Lakenheath in Suffolk, UK – Nuclear weapons damaged

A USAF B-47 crashed into a storage igloo spreading burning fuel over three Mark 6 nuclear bombs at RAF Lakenheath. A bomb disposal expert stated it was a miracle exposed detonators on one bomb did not fire, which presumably would have released nuclear material into the environment.[13]

May 22, 1957 – Kirtland AFB in New Mexico, USA – Non-nuclear detonation of an atomic weapon

A B-36 ferrying a nuclear weapon from Biggs AFB to Kirtland AFB dropped a nuclear weapon on approach to Kirtland AFB. The weapon impacted the ground 4.5 miles south of the Kirtland control tower and 0.3 miles west of the Sandia Base reservation. The weapon was completely destroyed by the detonation of its high explosive material, creating a crater 12 feet deep and 25 feet in diameter. Radioactive contamination at the crater lip amounted to 0.5 milliroentgen.[12]

9/26/2011 9:22:26 AM

July 28, 1957 – Atlantic Ocean – Two weapons jettisoned and not recovered

A USAF C-124 aircraft from Dover Air Force Base, Delaware was carrying three nuclear bombs over the Atlantic Ocean when it experienced a loss of power. The crew jettisoned two nuclear bombs to protect their safety, which were never recovered.[6]

September 11, 1957 – Rocky Flats Plant, Golden, Colorado, USA – Fire, release of nuclear materials

A fire began in a materials handling glove box and spread through the ventilation system into the stack filters at the Rocky Flats weapons mill 27 kilometres (17 mi) from Denver, Colorado. Plutonium and other contaminants were released, but the exact amount of which contaminants is unknown; estimates range from 25 mg to 250 kg.[14][15][16][17]

29 September 1957 – Kyshtym, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia (then USSR) – Explosion, release of nuclear materials
See Kyshtym disaster. A cooling system failure at the Mayak nuclear processing plant resulted in a major explosion and release of radioactive materials. Hundreds of people died and hundreds of thousands were evacuated.[18]
October 8–12, 1957 – Sellafield, Cumbria, UK – Reactor core fire

See Windscale fire. Technicians mistakenly overheated Windscale Pile No. 1 during an annealing process to release Wigner energy from graphite portions of the reactor. Poorly placed temperature sensors indicated the reactor was cooling rather than heating. The excess heat led to the failure of a nuclear cartridge, which in turn allowed uranium and irradiated graphite to react with air. The resulting fire burned for days, damaging a significant portion of the reactor core. About 150 burning fuel cells could not be lifted from the core, but operators succeeded in creating a firebreak by removing nearby fuel cells. An effort to cool the graphite core with water eventually quenched the fire. The reactor had released radioactive gases into the surrounding countryside, primarily in the form of iodine-131 (131I). Milk distribution was banned in a 200-square-mile (520 km2) area around the reactor for several weeks. A 1987 report by the National Radiological Protection Board predicted the accident would cause as many as 33 long-term cancer deaths, although the Medical Research Council Committee concluded that "it is in the highest degree unlikely that any harm has been done to the health of anybody, whether a worker in the Windscale plant or a member of the general public." The reactor that burned was one of two air-cooled graphite-moderated natural uranium reactors at the site used for production of plutonium.[19][20][21]

October 11, 1957 – Homestead Air Force Base, Florida – Nuclear bomb burned after B-47 aircraft accident[22]

B-47 aircraft crashed during take-off after a wheel exploded; one nuclear bomb burned in the resulting fire.

January 31, 1958 – Morocco – Nuclear bomb damaged in crash[22]

During a simulated takeoff a wheel casting failure caused the tail of a USAF B-47 carrying an armed nuclear weapon to hit the runway, rupturing a fuel tank and sparking a fire. Some contamination was detected immediately following the accident.[23][24]

February 5, 1958 – Savannah, Georgia, USA – Nuclear bomb lost

See Tybee Bomb. A USAF B-47 bomber jettisoned a Mark 15 Mod 0 nuclear bomb over the Atlantic Ocean after a midair collision with a USAF F-86 Sabre during a simulated combat mission from Homestead Air Force Base, Florida. The F-86's pilot ejected and parachuted to safety. The USAF claimed the B-47 tried landing at Hunter Air Force Base, Georgia three times before the bomb was jettisoned at 7,200 ft (2,200 m) near Tybee Island, Georgia. The B-47 pilot successfully landed in one attempt only after he first jettisoned the bomb. A 3-square-mile (7.8 km2) area near Wassaw Sound was searched for 9 weeks before the search was called off. The bomb was searched for in 2001 and not found. A group of investigators in 2004 claim to have found an underwater object which they think is the bomb.[25]

March 11, 1958 – Florence, South Carolina, USA – Non-nuclear detonation of a nuclear bomb

A USAF B-47 bomber flying from Hunter Air Force Base in Savannah, Georgia accidentally released a atomic bomb.[26] A home was destroyed and several people injured but the bomb's plutonium core did not explode.[27]

June 16, 1958 – Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA – Accidental criticality

A supercritical portion of highly enriched uranyl nitrate was allowed to collect in the drum causing a prompt neutron criticality in the C-1 wing of building 9212 at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Y-12 complex. It is estimated that the reaction produced 1.3 * 1018 fissions. Eight employees were in close proximity to the drum during the accident, receiving neutron doses ranging from 30 to 477 rems. No fatalities were reported.[28]

December 30, 1958 – Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA – Accidental criticality

During chemical purification a critical mass of a plutonium solution was accidentally assembled at Los Alamos National Laboratory. A chemical operator named Cecil Kelley died of acute radiation sickness. The March, 1961 Journal of Occupational Medicine printed a special supplement medically analyzing this accident. Hand-manipulations of critical assemblies were abandoned as a matter of policy in U.S. federal facilities after this accident.[28]

July, 1959 – Simi Valley, California, USA – Explosion

The Sodium Reactor Experiment was a pioneering nuclear power plant built by Atomics International at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, nearby Simi Valley, California. The reactor operated from 1957 to 1964. In July 1959, the reactor suffered a serious incident in which the reactor core was damaged causing the controlled release of radioactive gas to the atmosphere.[29]

November 20, 1959 – Oak Ridge, Tennessee, USA – Explosion

A chemical explosion occurred during decontamination of processing machinery in the radiochemical processing plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee . (Report ORNL-2989, Oak Ridge National Laboratory). The accident resulted in the release of about 15 grams (0.53 oz) of 239Pu.

[edit] 1960s

June 7, 1960 – New Egypt, New Jersey, USA – Nuclear warhead damaged by fire

A helium tank exploded and ruptured the fuel tanks of a USAF BOMARC-A surface-to-air missile at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. The fire destroyed the missile, and contaminated the area directly below and adjacent to the missile.[24][30]

October 13, 1960 – Barents Sea, Arctic Ocean – Release of nuclear materials

A leak developed in the steam generators and in a pipe leading to the compensator reception on the ill-fated K-8 while the Soviet Northern Fleet November-class submarine was on exercise. While the crew rigged an improvised cooling system, radioactive gases leaked into the vessel and three of the crew suffered visible radiation injuries according to radiological experts in Moscow. Some crew members had been exposed to doses of up to 1.8–2 Sv (180–200 rem).[31]

SL-1 reactor being removed from the National Reactor Testing Station.

January 3, 1961 – National Reactor Testing Station, Idaho, USA – Accidental criticality, steam explosion, 3 fatalities, release of fission products

During a maintenance shutdown, the SL-1 experimental nuclear reactor underwent a prompt critical reaction causing core materials to explosively vaporize. Water hammer estimated at 10,000 pounds per square inch (69,000 kPa) struck the top of the reactor vessel propelling the entire reactor vessel upwards over 9 feet (2.7 m) in the air. One operator who had been standing on top of the vessel was killed when a shield plug impaled him and lodged in the ceiling. Two other military personnel were also killed from the trauma of the explosion, one of which had removed the central control rod too far. The plant had to be dismantled and the contamination was buried permanently nearby. Most of the release of radioactive materials was concentrated within the reactor building.

For more details on this topic, see SL-1.

January 24, 1961 – Goldsboro B-52 crash – Physical destruction of a nuclear bomb, loss of nuclear materials
A USAF B-52 bomber caught fire and exploded in midair due to a major leak in a wing fuel cell 12 miles (19 km) north of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina. Five crewmen parachuted to safety, but three died—two in the aircraft and one on landing. The incident released the bomber's two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs. Three of the four arming devices on one of the bombs activated, causing it to carry out many of the steps needed to arm itself, such as the charging of the firing capacitors and, critically, the deployment of a 100-foot (30 m) diameter retardation parachute. The parachute allowed the bomb to hit the ground with little damage. The fourth arming device — the pilot's safe/arm switch — was not activated preventing detonation. The second bomb plunged into a muddy field at around 700 mph (300 m/s) and disintegrated. Its tail was discovered about 20 feet (6 m) down and much of the bomb recovered, including the tritium bottle and the plutonium. However, excavation was abandoned due to uncontrollable ground water flooding. Most of the thermonuclear stage, containing uranium, was left in situ. It is estimated to lie around 55 feet (17 m) below ground. The Air Force purchased the land and fenced it off to prevent its disturbance, and it is tested regularly for contamination, although none has so far been found.[32]

9/26/2011 9:26:13 AM

March 14, 1961 – 1961 Yuba City B-52 crash
USAF B-52 bomber experienced a decompression event that required it to fly below 10,000 feet. Resulting increased fuel consumption led to fuel exhaustion; the aircraft crashed with two nuclear bombs, which did not trigger a nuclear explosion.

July 4, 1961 – coast of Norway – Near meltdown
The Soviet Hotel-class submarine K-19 suffered a failure in its cooling system. Reactor core temperatures reached 800 °C (1,500 °F), nearly enough to melt the fuel rods, although the crew was able to regain temperature control by using emergency procedures. The incident contaminated parts of the ship, some of the onboard ballistic missiles and the crew, resulting in several fatalities. The movie K-19: The Widowmaker, starring Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson, offers a controversially fictionalized story of these events.

May 1, 1962 – Sahara desert, French Algeria – Accidental venting of underground nuclear test
The second French underground nuclear test, codenamed Béryl, took place in a shaft under mount Taourirt, near In Ecker, 150 km (100 mi) north of Tamanrasset, Algerian Sahara. Due to improper sealing of the shaft, a spectacular flame burst through the concrete cap and radioactive gases and dust were vented into the atmosphere. The plume climbed up to 2600 m (8500 ft) high and radiation was detected hundreds of km away. About a hundred soldiers and officials, including two ministers, were irradiated. The number of contaminated Algerians is unknown.

April 10, 1963 – Loss of nuclear reactor
Submarine USS Thresher sinks about 190 nmi (220 mi; 350 km) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts due to improper welds allowing in seawater which forced a shutdown of the reactor. Poor design of its emergency ballast system prevented the ship from surfacing and the disabled ship ultimately descended to crush depth and imploded.

January 13, 1964 – Salisbury, Pennsylvania and Frostburg, Maryland, USA – Accidental loss and recovery of thermonuclear bombs
A USAF B-52 on airborne alert duty encountered a severe winter storm and extreme turbulence, ultimately disintegrating in mid-air over South Central Pennsylvania.[33] Only the two pilots survived. One crew member failed to bail out and the rest succumbed to injuries or exposure to the harsh winter weather. A search for the missing weapons was initiated, and recovery was effected from portions of the wreckage at a farm northwest of Frostburg, MD.

April 21, 1964 – Indian Ocean – Launch failure of a RTG powered satellite
A U.S. Transit-5BN-3 nuclear-powered navigational satellite failed to reach orbital velocity and began falling back down at 150,000 feet (46 km) above the Indian Ocean.[34] The satellite's SNAP-9a generator contained 17 kCi (630 TBq)[35] of 238Pu (2.1 pounds), which at least partially burned upon reentry.[36][37][38][39] Increased levels of 238Pu were first documented in the stratosphere four months later. Indeed NASA (in the 1995 Cassini FEIS)[35] indicated that the SNAP-9a plutonium release was nearly double the 9000Ci added by all the atmospheric weapons tests to that date.[40][41] The United States Atomic Energy Commission reported a resulting threefold increase in global 238Pu fallout.[42][43] All subsequent Transit satellites were fitted with solar panels; RTG's were designed to remain contained during re-entry.

8 December 1964 – Bunker Hill Air Force Base, USA – Fire, radioactive contamination

USAF B-58 aircraft carrying a nuclear weapon caught fire while taxiing. Nuclear weapon burned, causing contamination of the crash area.[6]

January 1965 – Livermore, California, USA – Release of nuclear materials
An accident at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory released 300 kCi (11 PBq) of tritium gas. Subsequent study found this release was not likely to produce adverse health effects in the surrounding communities.[44]

11 October 1965 – Rocky Flats Plant, Golden, Colorado, USA – Fire, exposure of workers
A fire at Rocky Flats exposed a crew of 25 to up to 17 times the legal limit for radiation.

December 5, 1965 – coast of Japan – Loss of a nuclear bomb
A U.S. Navy A-4E Skyhawk aircraft with one B43 nuclear bomb on board fell off the aircraft carrier Ticonderoga into 16,200 feet (4,900 m) of water while the ship was underway from Vietnam to Yokosuka, Japan. The plane, pilot and weapon were never recovered. There is dispute over exactly where the incident took place—the U.S. Defense Department originally stated it took place 500 miles (800 km) off the coast of Japan, but Navy documents later show it happened about 80 miles (130 km) from the Ryukyu Islands and 200 miles (320 km) from Okinawa.[45]

January 17, 1966 – Palomares incident – Accidental destruction, loss and recovery of nuclear bombs
A USAF B-52 carrying four hydrogen bombs collided with a USAF KC-135 jet tanker during over-ocean in-flight refueling. Four of the B-52's seven crew members parachuted to safety while the remaining three were killed along with all four of the KC-135's crew. The conventional explosives in two of the bombs detonated upon impact with the ground, dispersing plutonium over nearby farms. A third bomb landed intact near Palomares while the fourth fell 12 miles (19 km) off the coast into the Mediterranean sea. The US Navy conducted a three month search involving 12,000 men and successfully recovered the fourth bomb. The U.S. Navy employed the use of the deep-diving research submarine DSV Alvin to aid in the recovery efforts. During the ensuing cleanup, 1,500 tonnes (1,700 short tons) of radioactive soil and tomato plants were shipped to a nuclear dump in Aiken, South Carolina. The U.S. settled claims by 522 Palomares residents for $600,000. The town also received a $200,000 desalinization plant. The motion picture Men of Honor (2000), starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., as USN Diver Carl Brashear, and Robert De Niro as USN Diver Billy Sunday, contained an account of the fourth bomb's recovery.[46]

January 21, 1968 – 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash, Greenland – Loss and partial recovery of nuclear bombs
A fire broke out in the navigator's compartment of a USAF B-52 near Thule Air Base, Greenland. The bomber crashed 7 miles (11 km) from the air base, rupturing its nuclear payload of four hydrogen bombs. The recovery and decontamination effort was complicated by Greenland's harsh weather. Contaminated ice and debris were buried in the United States. Bomb fragments were recycled by Pantex, in Amarillo, Texas. The incident caused outrage and protests in Denmark, as Greenland is a Danish possession and Denmark forbade nuclear weapons on its territory.

May 22, 1968 – 740 km (400 nmi) southwest of the Azores – Loss of nuclear reactor and two W34 nuclear warheads
The USS Scorpion (SSN-589) sank while enroute from Rota, Spain, to Naval Base Norfolk. The cause of sinking remains unknown; all 99 officers and men on board were killed. The wreckage of the ship, its S5W reactor, and its two Mark 45 torpedoes with W34 nuclear warheads, remain on the sea floor in more than 3,000 m (9,800 ft) of water.

May 24, 1968 – location unknown – Loss of cooling, radioactive contamination, nuclear fuel damaged
During sea trials the Soviet nuclear submarine K-27 (Project 645) suffered severe problems with its reactor cooling systems. After spending some time at reduced power, reactor output inexplicably dropped and sensors detected an increase of gamma radiation in the reactor compartment to 150 rad/h. The safety buffer tank released radioactive gases further contaminating the submarine. The crew shut the reactor down and subsequent investigation found that approximately 20% of the fuel assemblies were damaged. The entire submarine was scuttled in the Kara Sea in 1981.

August 27, 1968 – Severodvinsk, Russia (then USSR) – Reactor power excursion, contamination
While in the naval yards at Severodvinsk for repairs Soviet Yankee-class nuclear submarine K-140 suffered an uncontrolled increase of the reactor's power output. One of the reactors activated automatically when workers raised control rods to a higher position and power increased to 18 times normal, while pressure and temperature levels in the reactor increased to four times normal. The accident also increased radiation levels aboard the vessel. The problem was traced to the incorrect installation of control rod electrical cables.

May 11, 1969 – Rocky Flats Plant, Golden, Colorado, USA – Plutonium fire, contamination
An accident in which 5 kilograms of plutonium burnt inside a glovebox at Rocky Flats. Cleanup took two years and was the costliest industrial accident ever to occur in the United States at that time.[47][48][49]

9/26/2011 9:31:18 AM

1970s

April 12, 1970 – Bay of Biscay – Loss of a nuclear submarine
The Soviet November-class attack submarine K-8 sank during salvage with 52 sailors onboard after suffering fires in two compartments simultaneously. Both reactors were shut down. The crew attempted to hook a tow line to an Eastern Bloc merchant vessel, but ultimately failed.[50]

Baneberry's radioactive plume rises from a shock fissure. Contaminants were carried in three different directions by the wind

December 18, 1970 – Nevada Test Site – Accidental venting of nuclear explosion
In Area 8 on Yucca Flat, the 10 kiloton "Baneberry" weapons test of Operation Emery detonated as planned at the bottom of a sealed vertical shaft 900 feet below the Earth's surface but the device's energy cracked the soil in unexpected ways, causing a fissure near ground zero and the failure of the shaft stemming and cap.[51] A plume of hot gases and radioactive dust was released three and a half minutes after ignition,[52] and continuing for many hours, raining fallout on workers within NTS. Six percent of the explosion's radioactive products were vented. The plume released 6.7 MCi of radioactive material, including 80 kCi of Iodine-131 and a high ratio of noble gases.[53] After dropping a portion of its load in the area, the hot cloud's lighter particles were carried to three altitudes and conveyed by winter storms and the jet stream to be deposited heavily as radionuclide-laden snow in Lassen and Sierra counties in northeast California, and to lesser degrees in northern Nevada, southern Idaho and some eastern sections of Oregon and Washington states.[54] The three diverging jet stream layers conducted radionuclides across the US to Canada, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. Some 86 workers at the site were exposed to radioactivity, but according to the Department of Energy none received a dose exceeding site guidelines and, similarly, radiation drifting offsite was not considered to pose a hazard by the DOE. [55] In March 2009, TIME magazine identified the Baneberry Test as one of the world's worst nuclear disasters.[56]
December 12, 1971 – New London, Connecticut, USA – Spill of irradiated water
During the transfer of radioactive coolant water from the submarine USS Dace to the submarine tender USS Fulton 500 US gallons (1,900 l; 420 imp gal) were spilled into the Thames River (USA).
December 1972 – Pawling, New York, USA – Contamination
A major fire and two explosions contaminated the plant and grounds of a plutonium fabrication facility resulting in a permanent shutdown.

1975 – location unknown – Contamination
Radioactive resin contaminates the American Sturgeon-class submarine USS Guardfish after wind unexpectedly blows the powder back towards the ship. The resin is used to remove dissolved radioactive minerals and particles from the primary coolant loops of submarines. This type of accident was fairly common; however, U.S. Navy nuclear vessels no longer discharge resin at sea.

October 1975 – Apra Harbor, Guam – Spill of irradiated water
While disabled, the submarine tender USS Proteus discharged radioactive coolant water. A Geiger counter at two of the harbor's public beaches showed 100 millirems/hour, fifty times the allowable dose.[citation needed]

August 1976 – Benton County, Washington, USA – Explosion, contamination of worker
An explosion at the Hanford site Plutonium Finishing Plant blew out a quarter-inch-thick lead glass window. Harold McCluskey, a worker, was showered with nitric acid and radioactive glass. He inhaled the largest dose of 241Am ever recorded, about 500 times the U.S. government occupational standards. The worker was placed in isolation for five months and given an experimental drug to flush the isotope from his body. By 1977, his body's radiation count had fallen by about 80 percent. He died of natural causes in 1987 at age 75.[57]

1977 – coast of Kamchatka – Loss and recovery of a nuclear warhead
The Soviet submarine K-171 accidentally released a nuclear warhead. The warhead was recovered after a search involving dozens of ships and aircraft.[58]

January 24, 1978 – North West Territories, Canada – Spill of nuclear fuel
Cosmos 954, a Soviet Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite with an onboard nuclear reactor, failed to separate from its booster and broke up on reentry over Canada. The fuel was spread over a wide area and some radioactive pieces were recovered. The Soviet Union eventually paid the Canadian Government $3 million CAD for expenses relating to the crash.

May 22, 1978 – near Puget Sound, Washington, USA – Spill of irradiated water
A valve was mistakenly opened aboard the submarine USS Puffer releasing up to 500 US gallons (1,900 l; 420 imp gal) of radioactive water.

9/26/2011 9:37:19 AM

1980s

September 18, 1980 – At about 6:30 p.m., an airman conducting maintenance on a USAF Titan-II missile at Little Rock Air Force Base's Launch Complex 374-7 in Southside (Van Buren County), just north of Damascus, Arkansas, dropped a socket from a socket wrench, which fell about 80 feet (24 m) before hitting and piercing the skin on the rocket's first-stage fuel tank, causing it to leak. The area was evacuated. At about 3:00 a.m., on September 19, 1980, the hypergolic fuel exploded. The W53 warhead landed about 100 feet (30 m) from the launch complex's entry gate; its safety features operated correctly and prevented any loss of radioactive material. An Air Force airman was killed and the launch complex was destroyed.[59]
August 8, 1982 – While on duty in the Barents Sea, there was a release of liquid metal coolant from the reactor of the Soviet Project 705 Alfa-class submarine K-123. The accident was caused by a leak in the steam generator. Approximately two tons of metal alloy leaked into the reactor compartment, irreparably damaging the reactor such that it had to be replaced. It took nine years to repair the submarine.
January 3, 1983 – The Soviet nuclear-powered spy satellite Kosmos 1402 burns up over the South Atlantic.
August 10, 1985 – About 35 miles (56 km) from Vladivostok in Chazhma Bay, Soviet submarine K-431, a Soviet Echo-class submarine had a reactor explosion, producing fatally high levels of radiation. Ten men were killed, but the deadly cloud of radioactivity did not reach Vladivostok.[60]
1986 – The U.S. government declassifies 19,000 pages of documents indicating that between 1946 and 1986, the Hanford Site near Richland, Washington, released thousands of US gallons of radioactive liquids. Many of the people living in the affected area received low doses of radiation from 131I.
October 3, 1986 – 480 miles (770 km) east of Bermuda, K-219, a Soviet Yankee I-class submarine experienced an explosion in one of its nuclear missile tubes and at least three crew members were killed. Sixteen nuclear missiles and two reactors were on board. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev privately communicated news of the disaster to U.S. President Ronald Reagan before publicly acknowledging the incident on October 4. Two days later, on October 6, the submarine sank in the Atlantic Ocean while under tow in 18,000 feet (5,500 m) of water.[61]
October 1988 – At the nuclear trigger assembly facility at Rocky Flats in Colorado, two employees and a D.O.E. inspector inhaled radioactive particles, causing closure of the plant. Several safety violations were cited, including uncalibrated monitors, inadequate fire equipment, and groundwater contaminated with radioactivity.

[edit] 1990s

1997 – Georgian soldiers suffer radiation poisoning and burns. They are eventually traced back to training sources abandoned, forgotten, and unlabeled after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. One was a 137Cs pellet in a pocket of a shared jacket which put out about 130,000 times the level of background radiation at 1 meter distance.[62]

[edit] 2000s

August 2000: The Russian Oscar II class submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea after an explosion. The investigation showed that a leak of hydrogen peroxide in a torpedo led to an explosion of its fuel, causing the submarine to hit the bottom which in turn triggered the detonation of further torpedo warheads about two minutes later. The Kursk's two nuclear reactors, encased in 13 centimetres (5.1 in) of steel and resiliently mounted to absorb shocks in excess of 50g withstood the explosion, allowing the two reactors to shut down automatically; preventing nuclear meltdown or contamination. All 118 sailors and officers aboard Kursk died.

February 2003: Oak Ridge, Tennessee Y-12 facility. During the final testing of a new saltless uranium processing method, there was a small explosion followed by a fire. The explosion occurred in an unvented vessel containing unreacted calcium, water and depleted uranium. An exothermic reaction among these articles generated enough steam to burst the container. This small explosion breached its glovebox, allowing air to enter and ignite some loose uranium powder. Three employees were contaminated. BWXT Y-12 (now B&W Y-12), a partnership of Babcock & Wilcox and Bechtel, was fined $82,500 for the accident.[63]

9/26/2011 9:44:02 AM

Protests Threaten Plans for Rampant Nuclear Proliferation in India

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/09/26/is-democracy-thwarting-india%E2%80%99s-nuclear-power-ambitions/?mod=google_news_blog

9/26/2011 9:49:36 AM

suspend

9/26/2011 9:52:47 AM

We need to use the nuclear option.

9/26/2011 9:54:30 AM

Lock the thread. Fault zones aren't the problem. Nuclear is the problem.



[Edited on September 26, 2011 at 10:28 AM. Reason : .]

9/26/2011 10:19:06 AM

My name is smc, and I answer counterpoints to my bullshit by throwing up big walls of unrelated text.

9/27/2011 7:23:47 AM

http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LR4SRU1A74E901-2OKU7QQTGH3T563OI58KRUBPNF

Fukushima Desolation Worst Since Nagasaki

9/27/2011 9:18:11 AM

still waiting for that long list of submarines that are damaged each year by earthquakes at sea. still waiting for you to show me that line of subs out in the ocean just waiting to bump into each other

9/27/2011 8:25:47 PM

Switzerland is Latest Country to Abandon Nuclear Energy
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jCSeOpS19tU5dzL4GihVYh4OuAww?docId=CNG.1df1059dafd2f113fff8be0b059fe958.d31

9/28/2011 12:02:56 PM

New Georgia Nuclear Project Nears Approval
http://www.ajc.com/business/vogtle-nuclear-project-heads-1189080.html

9/28/2011 12:31:26 PM

As of this week, 45+ countries *that currently have no nuclear power* (ie not including countries that already have it and are planning to build more like the US) are still actively moving forward with plans to build new nuclear power programs or have not made public statements that they are rescinding current plans.

We're bidding on one in Poland that would be cool to work on but if we got it the in-office work probably wouldn't be here for like two years.

[Edited on September 28, 2011 at 1:00 PM. Reason : ]

9/28/2011 1:00:04 PM

9/28/2011 2:30:40 PM

The pretty grey countries will be the only ones habitable in the future.

9/28/2011 4:33:12 PM

Oh yeah? Why's that?

9/28/2011 8:17:16 PM

im pretty sure id rather be a radioactive troglodyte than live in sub-saharan africa.

[Edited on September 28, 2011 at 8:46 PM. Reason : -]

9/28/2011 8:46:27 PM

Georgia Power Plant is Leaking Radiation Into Groundwater
http://www.ajc.com/news/radioactive-water-found-beneath-1192383.html

9/30/2011 11:26:04 PM

sounds like the system is working as designed. shit was found, it didn't migrate practically anywhere, and they are now cleaning it up. what's your complaint again? oh right, that the system isn't 100% perfect with zero breakdowns and problems ever. better stop using your car, then. after all, cars kill more people every year than nuclear power plants.

by the way, I am STILL waiting for you to show me those lines of submarines out in the ocean, all bumping into each other during heavy storms. I'm also still waiting for that long list of submarines that are damaged and destroyed every year by earthquakes.

[Edited on October 1, 2011 at 2:28 PM. Reason : ]

10/1/2011 2:27:42 PM

Progress Energy To Close NC Power Plant
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/45271d22b4f44cab9c87c6ae039c4583/NC--Power-Plant-Closing/



TEPCO's emergency manual was "useless" in dealing with Fukushima; made assumptions that backup generators would never fail.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20111002p2g00m0dm083000c.html

[Edited on October 2, 2011 at 11:13 AM. Reason : .]

10/2/2011 11:11:13 AM

ultra-troll attempt? Why are you posting about them closing down a coal-fired power plant?

[Edited on October 2, 2011 at 11:23 AM. Reason : ]

10/2/2011 11:22:51 AM

Why aren't you happy? Isn't this what you want? Why can't I be happy about it?

10/2/2011 11:26:23 AM

I mean, yes they need to phase out (ie replace) or upgrade these ultra-old plants but I don't really know why it has much bearing on your arguments here. Coal-fired plants and nuclear plants generally serve very different purposes in this region (base-loading versus peak-loading)

10/2/2011 11:30:38 AM

We'll still be cleaning up the waste from the production of WWII nuclear weapons in 2050.
http://news.opb.org/article/nuclear_relic/

Plutonium now found 40km from Fukushima, double the evacuated area.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7e3af460-ece6-11e0-be97-00144feab49a.html#axzz1Zdgl8d6F

New Tenn. Nuke Plant Greenlighted by NRC
http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/oct/01/bellefonte-gains-permit-extension/

10/2/2011 11:37:29 AM

Quote :

"Plutonium now found 40km from Fukushima, double the evacuated area. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7e3af460-ece6-11e0-be97-00144feab49a.html#axzz1Zdgl8d6F"

Did you know matter is made up of atoms? And that those atoms are really small?

10/2/2011 4:30:50 PM

How is any of this related to Obsolete Nuclear Plant Designs in Fault Zones?

10/3/2011 10:06:34 AM

Making a thread about "Obsolete Nuclear Plant Designs in Fault Zones" is like making a thread about "baby killing Democrats", and then when someone argues how that's a title based in misunderstanding, arguing that they're off-topic.

10/3/2011 10:41:15 AM

Would you prefer that I start a new thread with my own title?

India Holds American Companies Liable for Faulty Reactors...Deters American Nuclear Exports
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204612504576608433136222652.html

10/3/2011 11:48:19 AM

India Holds American Companies Liable for Faulty Reactors whatever dumb mistake an underpaid Indian operator makes in the future

10/3/2011 12:44:02 PM

^Racist.

10/3/2011 3:29:55 PM