Top 10 Nuclear / Radioactive Accidents


Nuclear power is often billed as the cleaner, more productive future of energy. In theory this claim holds true. However, the human dynamic dictates that accidents will happen. Since the generation of nuclear energy produces waste that can affect human populations and natural environments for centuries, this is a scary proposition. Nuclear devices have changed pop culture globally and irreversibly. Listed here are ten events that demonstrate the harmful potential of this harnessed energy source.

10. Lucens Reactor Partial Meltdown

Luckily, the world has yet to experience enough nuclear accidents to push this incident off of the list. The partial meltdown of Sweden’s Lucens reactor is in fact a tale of proper caution when dealing with nuclear materials. Unlike most of the perpetrators that come later, the facility that served to pilot Sweden’s nuclear power program was built in a cavern. A fault in the coolant system (something you might notice as being a recurring trend) resulted in the partial meltdown of the reactor core. The Swedes sealed the cavern and later decontaminated it. No casualties were reported. This accident is the best that it gets for nuclear accidents as our list becomes increasingly fatal.

9. Three Mile Island

In terms of health effects and overall impact, the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island ranks rather low. It makes the list because its fame put it here. This accident is the worst that an American nuclear power plant has experienced to date. Its fame derives not from solely what and where it happened, but just as much from what might have happened. The Three Mile Island nuclear accident serves as a stark reminder about how close some of these plants are to populated areas and how easily a stroke of luck could affect us in a big way. The plant itself is named “Three Mile Island” because it is a mere three miles downriver from Middletown, Pennsylvania. There are also three cities (York, Harrisburg, and Lancaster) within 25 miles of the location. All of these areas could have been potentially radioactively poisoned and/over evacuated. These fears were largely incited through the Chernobyl Incident we will read about soon enough.

8. Soviet Submarine K-19 Nuclear Accident

If Captain Ahab donned a Russian accent and lived during the age of submarines, then it is likely his name would be Nikolai Vladimirovich Zateyev. Zateyev was the commander of K-19 during the time of its major crisis. K-19 was conducting drills in the Northern Atlantic when there was a malfunction in the nuclear reactor’s coolant system. What followed was one of the longest sail of shames in history. Zateyev refused help from the nearby American warships he was training to possibly destroy. When his crew grew displeased with being forced into a radioactive setting, their commander confiscated and threw all of their weapons overboard. The K-19 pill of pollution was dragged back home by a diesel powered sub where it fouled the waters. The sub was considered such a mechanical disaster that it was nicknamed “Hiroshima” by Soviet navy men.

7. Sinking of the USS Thresher

The USS Thresher was a nuclear powered submarine jam-packed with cutting edge technology. Sadly, the manufacturers overlooked one minor detail—ensuring that she’d stay afloat. She was launched in 1960 and endured a series of tests through the Caribbean and along the Atlantic coast of the United States. The first problem with the Thresher was in 1961 when she had to get a jump start from a World War II era, diesel-powered sub (the USS Cavalla). Plagued by mechanical injuries, the Thresher was eventually brought north for extensive overhauls. The vessel sank during its first test drive after its renovation. Days later, it was formally announced that all 129 passengers were considered deceased.

6. The Windscale Fire


The post-World War II arms race was in full force and the UK didn’t want to be left in the wind. In an effort to develop their first atomic bombs, the British built two reactors: Windscale Pile No. 1 and Windscale Pile No. 2. In October 1957, sometime during a failed three-day process of annealing, a fire erupted in the reactor of Pile No. 1. Overall the amounts of casualties are estimated between 200-240 cases of cancer resulting from the fire and subsequent radioactive release. The first attempts at dowsing the flames came in the form of turning the plant’s fans full blast (which served to fan the flames) and the dropping of liquid carbon dioxide. Water drops followed to no avail. Finally, the engineers realized that starving the fire of oxygen was the only route to success.

5. Brazil’s Goiânia Accident

Sometimes humans get creative with how we spread our radioactive contamination. A radiotherapy medical institute, “Instituto Goiano de Radioterapia”, left one site for another in 1985.  The problem is that they left some radiological equipment behind at their old place of business. A canister of highly radioactive material made its way out of the defunct premises and into the black market where it was repeatedly handled and pawned. Eventually, the device made its way to a scrapyard. Four people who handled the device repeatedly perished. At least 249 others tested positive for radioactive exposure. Due to how radioactivity is dispersed, the Goiana accident is perhaps the most unique of the world’s nuclear disasters.

4. Radiotherapy Accident in Zaragoza, Spain

Another mishap in the radio-therapeutic field, a number of cancer patients were cooked by an overpowered electron accelerator at the Clinic of Zaragova in 1990. Eleven patients met an early demise and at least 16 more were wounded. Symptoms included burnt skin, organs, and bone marrow. Exasperating the problem was a bad stroke of luck- namely, the delay of the annually scheduled safety board inspection. The accident was certainly not as widespread as the Goiânia accident, but it proved to be more fatal to those afflicted.

3. Kyshtym Disaster

Obviously outclassed in nuclear technology by their post-World War II American rivals, the Soviet Union became desperate to catch up. One of the end results was a closed city named Ozyorsk (Soviets loved having classified towns and cities) that enshrouded a nuclear facility by the name of Mayak. Radioactive sludge was subsequently pumped directly into the Techa River (from there to the Ob River and ultimately the Arctic Ocean) and later stored at Lake Karachay (largely considered the most densely polluted area in the world). As if this facility wasn’t a disaster already, there was an explosion on September 29, 1957. Over a half million people were affected by differing levels of radiation. Many of the towns along the Techa River, who had already been drinking deliberately contaminated water, were evacuated around a week later. Discretion, as usual, was the Soviets’ chief concern. By the time they were warned off, many of these inhabitants had skin falling off of their faces and other mysterious ailments.

2. Fukushima Daiichi

For whatever reason, the Japanese thought it was a good idea to place a nuclear power plant along shores frequented by earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis. It is amazing that the plant, commissioned since 1971, hadn’t experienced a disaster earlier. Not surprisingly, a ridiculously large quake and tsunami hit on March 11, 2011. Nature knocked Fukushima Daichi (Fukushima I), one of the 15 largest power plants in the world, out of business. Once cooling systems were flooded out and power low, radioactivity spewed forth. Reactors overheated while a hold was put on using seawater to prevent an imminent meltdown. By the time the red tape cleared to do permanent harm to the nuclear apparatus with the sea water, it was too late to prevent the meltdowns. The end result is a 20 square km restricted zone surrounding the area. Luckily geographical features prevented the need for a larger Chernobyl-sized zone. While this disaster currently ranks #2 on our list, future discoveries concerning the health of nearby Japanese citizens might easily push the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster past our current champion.

1. Chernobyl

Ever since 1986, the disaster in Chernobyl has influenced popular myths and realities alike.  A zone of 19 miles (30 km) was subsequently cleared of people and remains mostly unoccupied to this day. Chernobyl itself was a small town of medieval origin, but even more famous is the now vacant city of Pripyat. An increasing amount of tourists and photojournalists have visited the city’s iconic locations, such as the Ferris wheel and the amusement park. The accident at Chernobyl stands as a symbol of the diabolical nature of a Soviet regime who was more concerned with trying to cover up the accident than getting its people the help they needed. Mythically, Chernobyl has been tied to the Russian movie S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (1979) due to the similarities between the forbidden zones in the movie and in the real world. Such a huge amount of folklore and mythology surrounds the zone that a series of games and movies have explored concepts from artifact hunters that delve into radioactive areas to mutant creatures lurking among the old ruins. Even the concrete structure used to contain the melted down reactor is called a sarcophagus, like it is holding the corpse of a dormant beast. Not to be lost among the tales surrounding Chernobyl are the sacrifices made by the firefighters and other workers on that first day that helped prevent even more widespread damage.
Top 10 Nuclear / Radioactive Accidents Top 10 Nuclear / Radioactive Accidents Reviewed by Unknown on 8:48 AM Rating: 5
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