History of Nuclear Energy Worst DisastersThe following history of nuclear energy disasters is taken from Time magazine.
Tokaimura Nuclear Accident, September 30, 1999 The worst nuclear accident in the history of Japan happened in a uranium reprocessing facility in Tokaimura, northeast of Tokyo. The incident took place while workers were mixing liquid uranium. Tomsk-7 Explosion, April 6. 1993 The accident in the Siberian city of Tomsk took place after a tank exploded while being cleaned with nitric acid. The explosion released a cloud of radioactive gas drifting from the Tomsk-7 Reprocessing Complex. Goiania Accident, September 13, 1987 More than 240 people were exposed to radiation when a junkyard dealer in Goiania, Brazil, broke open an abandoned radiation therapy machine and removed a small highly radioactive cake of cesium chloride. Children, attracted to the bright blue of the radioactive material, touched it and rubbed it on their skin, resulting in the contamination of several city blocks which had to be demolished. Chernobyl, April 26, 1986 The Chernobyl disaster is considered to be the worst nuclear power plant disaster in history. On the morning of April 26, 1986, reactor number four at the Chernobyl plant exploded. More explosions ensued, and the fires that resulted sent radioactive fallout into the atmosphere. Four hundred times more fallout was released than had been by the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. K-431 Chazhma Bay, August 10. 1985 During refuelling in Vladivostok, Russia, the Echo II class submarine (like the one seen above) suffered an explosion, sending a radioactive cloud of gas into the air. Ten sailors were killed in the incident and 49 people were observed to have radiation injuries. Three Mile Island, March 28, 1979 The partial meltdown of the Three Mile Island Unit 2 nuclear power plant was the most serious accident in the history of U.S. nuclear power plant operating history, despite the fact that it led to no deaths or injuries. Yucca Flat, December 18. 1970 After the Baneberry test, involving the detonation of a 10 kiloton nuclear device underneath Yucca Flat in Nevada, the plug sealing the shaft from the surface failed and radioactive debris vented into the atmospher. Eighty six workers at the site were exposed to radiation. Thule Accident, Janury 21, 1968 A a cabin fire aboard a B-52 forced the crew of the American bomber to abandon the craft before they could carry out an emergency landing. The bomber then crashed onto sea ice near the Thule Air Base in Greenland, causing the nuclear payload to rupture, which resulted in widespread radioactive contamination. Palomares Incident, January 17, 1966 A U.S. B52 bomber collided with KC-135 tanker during mid-air flight refuelling over the coast of Spain. The tanker was completely destroyed in the incident, while the B52 broke apart, spilling four hydrogen bombs from its broken fuselage. The non-nuclear weapons in two of the bombs detonated on impact with the ground, contaminating of a 490 acre area with radioactive plutonium. One of the devices was recovered from the Mediterranean Sea. Windscale Fire, October 10, 1957 The incident occurred when the graphite core of a British nuclear reactor caught fire near Cumberland. The fire resulted in a release of a significant amount of radioactive contamination. It would come to be known as the worst reactor accident until Three Mile Island. Do your own research on the history of nuclear energy, find out how many disasters there actually are. Be sure to read how many times we've come within minutes of nuclear war - the full disclosed history of nuclear energy is both hilarious and morbidly fascinating at the same time. The Geek here has yet to read a single story about a solar panel exploding or infecting hundreds with radiation. Nuclear Energy main page
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