Recent Event Highlights: Steam from fracture kills 4, injures 7 in Japan, Several tons of sodium leaked in Japan, Nuclear cylinder burst kills 1, injures 31, Radiation leaked from underground Switzerland reactor, Partial core meltdown in Michigan, Partial core meltdown in Canada, and 11 more...
Created by mhofbauer on Apr 15, 2011
Last updated: 04/27/11 at 01:55 AM
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Hot water ejected from a fracture in the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant, creating vapor and steam.
The steam filled the second floor of the building, killing four workers and injuring seven others.
The plant was quickly shut down and no radiation leaked.
http://www.kepco.co.jp/english/press/2004/e20040810_1.html
http://www.iaea.org/inis/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/31/044/31044840.pdf
A power increase in Chernobyk, Ukraine caused the evacuation of 135,000 people, the deaths of at least 31 people, and the contamination of millions across Europe.
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/chernobyl-bg.html
A cylinder rupture at the Sequoyah Fuels Corporation in Gore, Oklahoma resulted in the release of a dense uranium cloud.
On contact with the moisture of air, the cloud became more highly toxic, resulting in one death from inhalation and at least 31 injuries.
In 1992, under new ownership, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission ordered the plant shutdown after a contamination in the facility's soil and groundwater.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/facility/gore.htm
A violation of the refuelling procedure at the Chazhma Bay Ship Repair Facility led to a criticality accident and steam explosion in the Soviet submarine K-431.
The entire core was blown out of the reactor and the ship was severely damaged. The resulting fire was extinguished after four hours.
The damaged submarine was berthed and is now kept in Pavlovsk Bay.
http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Admin/PUB/Documents/IR-03-009.pdf (page 16)
An estimated 7 lbs. of uranium accidentally vented into the atmosphere of Erwin, Tennessee.
The radioactive material passed through a stack equipped to remove pollutants.
The plant has had several leaks since.
http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML0936/ML093630722.pdf
Three Mile Island marked the most serious nuclear accident in U.S. history.
A partial meltdown resulted after equipment malfunctions, design-related problems and operator errors. About one-half of the core melted during the early stages.
Although the accident was severe, no deaths or injuries resulted from the released radiation.
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html
The KS-150 nuclear plant in Czechoslavakia was shutdown after five years in operation because of in integrity accident in the primary coolant system.
Significant damage and corrosion caused a contamination of structural surfaces.
http://www.wmsym.org/archives/2002/Proceedings/35/140.pdf
While the underground Lucens reactor was routinely shut down, a blockage of corrosion products accumulated and caused fuel melting, pressure tube failure and eventual rupture, and the rupture of a calandria tube.
Radiation was sealed into a cave and never released. The reactor was shut down and eventually decommissioned.
http://canteach.candu.org/library/D407_scr1.pdf
Two fuel subassemblies started to melt at the Fermi 1 plant in Frenchtown Michigan when a plate became loose and blocked coolant flow.
Operators manually shut down the reactor and no radioactive material was released.
http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/power-reactor/enrico-fermi-atomic-power-plant-unit-1.html
The Soviet Union's first nuclear-powered submarine filled with radiation after one of the pipes in the reactor control system ruptured.
The captain and seven-man crew died.
http://www.iaea.org/ns/nusafe/tutors/thermalhydraulics/module3/images/nuclear_accidents.htm
A criticality surge and steam explosion erupted inside the SL-1 nuclear power plant while a three-man military crew was working with a fuel rod.
"The resulting blast killed the three crew members, produced extensive damage inside the reactor vessel and secondary damage to the reactor room by ejected missiles," stated the interim report issued by the Atomic Energy Commission.
http://www.id.doe.gov/foia/PDF/IDO-19300a.pdf
Graphite in one reactor in the Windscale nuclear complex combusted in 1957 due to an energy buildup that went undetected by the alarm system.
A substantial portion of the reactor core was destroyed and radiation was released.
http://www.iaea.org/inis/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/30/008/30008057.pdf
A defect in the shut-off rod, combined with operator errors, caused a power surge and a temporary loss of control over reactor power in the Chalk River Laboratories in Ontario, Canada.
Experimental fuel rods recieved inadequate cooling and about 10,000 curies of fission products entered about a million gallons of cooling water in the basement.
The core of the reactor was severely damaged and the event resulted in a large-scale cleanup, but no one was hurt, no radiation leaked, and the Canadian government improved on reactor safety.
http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionD.htm#x
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