Top 10 Greatest Nuclear Disasters in History

Our modern society uses a lot of nuclear applications. In addition to military and nuclear energy, the medical world also applies radioactive radiation. However, the use of radioactivity involves huge risks. Some nuclear disasters have permanent consequences for future generations. Below we discuss the ten biggest failures with radioactive applications that took place in history.

10. The incident with a radioactive source in Goiânia

Goiânia is a city in central Brazil. After the closure of the local hospital in 1985, two men dismantled the radiotherapy system for precious materials. Without realizing this, they removed a high-dose capsule with cesium chloride. The men opened the capsule so that the radioactive powder evolved and blue light emitted. They sold the open capsule to a scrap dealer who came in contact with the cesium chloride with his relatives and friends. In the following weeks, four people died of radiation disease. In total, 245 people were exposed to the radiation. The authorities spun the source and cleaned the infected sites. Still, 13% of the radioactive material would still be present, spread across different places in Goiânia.

9. Tokaimura incident

In Japan, Tokaimura took a severe nuclear incident in 1999, which cost two workers. At the nuclear plant of Tokaimura uranium was enriched. As a result of human error, a dangerous chain reaction occurred. For more than twenty hours, the reactor vessel exhibited high-level radioactive radiation. Residents of the area were temporarily evacuated. Following a court investigation, the license of the nuclear plant was revoked.

8. The incident with the Sodium Reactor Experiment

The 'Sodium Reactor Experiment' was a pioneering project aimed at gaining experience with nuclear power plants. This experimental nuclear power plant was built in 1957, in the state of California. Liquid sodium was chosen as the coolant for the reactor. In 1959 a serious incident occurred, which resulted in a partial meltdown. The cause was a clogging in the cooling ducts, causing 13 of the 43 fuel elements to overheat. The incident caused increased radioactivity in the reactor building and the escape of radioactive substances in the area.

7. The incident with the Enrico Fermi-1 reactor

The Enrico Fermi nuclear power plant was located in Monroe, in the state of Michigan (United States). Reactor Fermi-1 was the first so-called culture reactor, which, in addition to heat, also produced new fissionable radioactive material. In 1966 an incident occurred. Due to a mechanical failure, the reactor was insufficiently cooled, causing two fuel elements to overheat and partially melt. In 1970, the reactor was restarted, but in 1972 it was permanently discontinued. Fortunately, there was no radioactivity in the area.

6. The disaster near Kysjtym

Kysjtym is a Russian city in the Ural Mountains. In 1945, the nuclear complex Majak was built near Kysjtym. In 1957, a storage tank of nuclear waste exploded. This was anxiously kept by the Russians until a banned Russian scientist publicly spoke about the disaster in 1976. It is estimated that 200 people died from the effects of radiation disease. An area of ​​1000 square kilometers affected heavily radioactively infected. To date, this area cannot be accessed without special permission.

5. The incident with the SL-1 reactor

The SL-1 was an experimental nuclear reactor in a nuclear test center west of Idaho Falls (United States). In 1961 an enormous steam explosion took place. The cause of the disaster was a purely human error: an employee had a central control rod remote from the reactor vessel. Three workers died. One of the dead was nailed to the ceiling of the reactor building by a road slinging object. Radioactive substances were found in the vicinity. However, because the nuclear complex was in the thin-populated Idaho desert, this did not constitute an immediate danger. After the incident, the compound was demolished, and the area was cleaned.

4. The fire in the Windscale center

In Windscale on the northwestern coast of the United Kingdom, the largest nuclear disaster occurred in English history in 1957. In a nuclear reactor, a uranium rod flared due to excessive temperature. Soon a significant part of the reactor was on fire. The released radioactive cloud spread across a large proportion of the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. After two days, they managed to extinguish the fire in the reactor. The reactor tank was hermetically sealed after the disaster and still contains 15 tons of high-level uranium.

3. The disaster in the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant

Three Mile Island was a nuclear power plant in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (United States). On March 28, 1979, the biggest nuclear disaster occurred on American territory. Due to a safety valve that no longer closed, a large part of the cooling water flowed away. The reactor was insufficiently cooled, which severely damaged the reactor core. A significant amount of radioactive gases came free in the area. It was only in 1993 that the site was cleaned.

2. Earthquake and tsunami in Fukushima

As a result of an earthquake and a tsunami on March 11, 2011, the Fukushima nuclear power station stopped automatically. The cooling system continued to work on batteries, which quickly became exhausted. The failure of the cooling caused a nuclear melting, which radiated radioactivity in the environment. The inhabitants were evacuated. To date, a large part of the area around the center remains closed.

1. Chernobyl nuclear disaster

The biggest nuclear disaster in history took place in the Ukrainian city of Chernobyl. On April 26, 1986, reactor 4 exploded at the nuclear power station due to an incorrect test. The blast was so violent that the roof of the reactor building flew. A radioactive cloud spread rapidly across much of Europe. The explosion resulted in 31 deaths. It is believed, however, that in the years afterward thousands of people died of cancer caused by the released radioactivity. The area around the center remains for a long time forbidden grounds.