Oct.
7, 1957 A fire in the Windscale plutonium production reactor N of
Liverpool, England, spread radioactive material throughout the countryside.
In 1983, the British government said that 39 people probably died of cancer
as a result.
1957
A chemical explosion in Kasli, USSR (now in Russia), in tanks containing
nuclear waste, spread radioactive material and forced a major evacuation.
Jan.
3, 1961 An experimental reactor at a federal installation near Idaho
Falls, Id., killed three workers—the only deaths in U.S. reactor operations.
The plant had high radiation levels but damage was contained.
Oct.
5, 1966 A sodium cooling system malfunction caused a partial core
meltdown at the Enrico Fermi demonstration breeder reactor near Detroit,
Mich. Radiation was contained.
Jan.
21, 1969 A coolant malfunction from an experimental underground reactor
at Lucens Vad, Switzerland, resulted in the release of a large amount of
radiation into a cavern, which was then sealed.
Mar.
22, 1975 A technician checking for air leaks with a lighted candle
caused a $100 million fire at the Brown's Ferry reactor in Decatur, Ala.
The fire burned out electrical controls, lowering the cooling water to
dangerous levels.
Mar.
28, 1979 The worst commercial nuclear accident in the U.S. occurred
as equipment failures and human mistakes led to a loss of coolant and partial
core meltdown at the Three Mile Island reactor in Middletown, Pa.
Thousands living near the plant left the area before the 12-day crisis
ended, during which time some radioactive water and gases were released.
Feb.
11, 1981 Eight workers were contaminated when over 100,000 gallons
of radioactive coolant leaked into the containment building of the TVA's
Sequoyah 1 plant in Tennessee.
Apr.
25, 1981 Some 100 workers were exposed to radioactive material during
repairs of a nuclear plant at Tsuruga, Japan.
Jan.
6, 1986 A cylinder of nuclear material burst after being improperly
heated at a Kerr- McGee plant at Gore, Okla. One worker died and 100 were
hospitalized.
Apr.
26, 1986 In the worst accident in the history of the nuclear power industry,
fires and explosions resulting from an unauthorized experiment at the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant near Kiev, USSR (now in Ukraine), left at least 31
people dead in the immediate aftermath of the disaster and spread significant
quantities of radioactive material over much of Europe. An estimated 135,000
people were evacuated from areas around Chernobyl, some of which were rendered
uninhabitable for years. As a result of the radiation released into the
atmosphere, tens of thousands of excess cancer deaths (as well as increased
rates of birth defects) were expected in succeeding decades.
The U.S.
nuclear capacity is projected to decline from 99.1 GWe in 1994 to be between
61.4 GWe and 76.0 GWe by 2015.
In 1996
the US has only one nuclear unit under construction. Six units are
classified as indefinitely deferred with very little likelihood of ever
being completed. The Tennessee Valley Authority should complete one
station by 1996.
Worldwide,
there are 98 nuclear units under construction. The Far East region has
37 units, more than any other region in the world. South Korea started
constructing 5 units in 1994.