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.
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