Significant Events In History

1999 - Tokai-mura Criticality Accident
At around 10:35 on 30 September 1999, three workers preparing a small batch of fuel for an experimental reactor brought together too much uranium enriched to a relatively high level. This caused a limited uncontrolled nuclear chain reaction. The reaction continued intermittently for 20 hours and the three operators received doses above permissible limits. Two of the doses proved fatal. Read More...

1986 - Chernobyl Accident
At 01:23 hr, Saturday, 26 April 1986, two explosions destroyed the core of Unit 4 of the Chernobyl reactor in the Ukraine. The steam explosion and fire released at least five percent of the radioactive reactor core into the atmosphere. The disaster was the product of a flawed Soviet reactor design coupled with serious mistakes made by the plant operators in the context of a system where training was minimal. 28 people died within four months from radiation or thermal burns, 19 have subsequently died, and there have been around nine deaths from thyroid cancer apparently due to the accident: total 56 fatalities as of 2004. Read More...

Answers from the UN World Health OrganizationChernobyl: the true scale of the accident

Download the Full Report of the UN Chernobyl Forum

1979 - Three Mile Island
At 04:00 hr, 28 March 1979, a relatively minor malfunction in the secondary cooling circuit caused the temperature in the primary coolant to rise. After one second the reactor shut down automatically. At this point a relief valve failed to close, but instrumentation did not reveal the fact, and so much of the primary coolant drained away that the residual decay heat in the reactor core was not removed. The core suffered severe damage as a result. Some radioactive gas was released a couple of days after the accident, but not enough to cause any dose above background levels to local residents. There were no injuries or adverse health effects from the accident. Read More..

The Fact Sheet of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island

The TMI 2 Accident: Its Impact, Its Lessons

Papers about Nuclear Safety and Related Issues:

Safety of Nuclear Power Reactors
Nuclear Power Plants and Earthquakes
Cooperation in the Nuclear Power Industry
Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage
Early Soviet Reactors & EU Accession
Radiation and Nuclear Energy
Occupational Safety in Uranium Mining
Naturally-Occurring Radioactive materials (NORM)
Hazards of Using Energy (Technology Comparison)