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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
- Sprache: Englisch
The peaceful use of atomic energy has given rise to a variety of nuclear accidents from the start. This concerns all forms of use, industrial and medical. For each accident, Industrial and Medical Nuclear Accidents details the contamination of the environment, flora and fauna, and quantifies the effects of ionizing radiation. The book also examines the adverse effects on the health, both physical and mental, of the human populations concerned. The monetary cost is also evaluated. The research presented in this book is based on scientifically recognized publications and on the reports of national and international organizations competent in this field (IAEA, WHO, UNSCEAR, IRSN, etc.). The book contains chapters devoted to the most recent accidents (Chernobyl and Fukushima), with a large body of institutional and academic literature.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019
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Table of Contents
Cover
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Acronyms
1 Classification of Civil, Industrial and Medical Nuclear Accidents
1.1. Nuclear accident or radiological accident?
1.2. Classification of nuclear accidents. Incident or accident?
1.3. Classification of radiological accidents
1.4. The typology of accidents
1.5. What are the main nuclear accidents?
1.6. Information on nuclear energy
2 Accidents Related to Nuclear Power Production
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Accidents in the nuclear fuel cycle
2.3. Accidents in laboratories
2.4. Other accidents
2.5. Waste management incidents
2.6. Incidents in the transport of radioactive packages
2.7. Environmental consequences
2.8. Health consequences
2.9. The cost of accidents
2.11. Conclusions
3 The Extremely Serious Nuclear Accident at Chernobyl
3.1. Introduction
3.2. The facts
3.3. Spatial and environmental consequences
3.4. Ecological consequences of the Chernobyl accident
3.5. Health consequences
3.6. Social consequences
3.7. Consequences in Europe and France
3.8. Economic consequences
3.9. Long-term management of the Chernobyl accident
3.10. Conclusion
4 Fukushima’s Serious Nuclear Accidents
4.1. Introduction
4.2. The course of the Fukushima accidents
4.3. Actions taken by the Japanese authorities
4.4. Environmental contamination
4.5. Exposure and effects on flora and fauna
4.6. Health consequences
4.7. Economic consequences
4.8. The situation in 2016 and 2017
4.9. Conclusions
5 Industrial and Medical Radiology Accidents
5.1 Introduction
5.2. Industrial and medical applications
5.3. Radiological criticality accidents
5.4. Radiological accidents related to the loss of radioactive sources
5.5. Radiological accidents with radioactive sources and industrial accelerators
5.6. Medical radiological accidents
5.7. Conclusions
Conclusion
C.1. Comparison of the Chernobyl and Fukushima accidents
C.2. Consequences of nuclear accidents on the physical environment
C.3. Ecological consequences of nuclear accidents
C.4. Adaptation of organisms to radiation
C.5. Health consequences of nuclear accidents
C.6. Social consequences and perceived risk of nuclear accidents
C.7. Probability of a new nuclear accident
C.8. Costs of civil nuclear accidents
C.9. Future of civil nuclear power
Glossary
References
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 1
Table 1.1. The severity levels of a nuclear event. The INES
Table 1.2. The ASN-SFRO classification for radiological accidents (adapted from ...
Table 1.3. Procedure for the classification of an event on the basis of exposure...
Table 1.4. List of nuclear accidents in the civil field classified in order of d...
Chapter 2
Table 2.1. The most significant accidents that have occurred in civil nuclear in...
Table 2.2. Type and level of exposure of the population of Beaumont-Hague caused...
Chapter 3
Table 3.1. Inventory of 137Cs, 90Sr and 239,240Pu deposits in the 30 km Chernoby...
Table 3.2. Surface area in km2 and populations affected on January 1, 1995 accor...
Table 3.3. Definition of the contamination zones in Belarus in kBq.m−2 (modified...
Table 3.4. Concentrations in 137Cs and 90Sr in Scots pine trees growing above an...
Table 3.5. Change in the number of abnormal cells in the meristem of winter rice...
Table 3.6. Main exposed populations and average effective dose (mSv) (based on [...
Table 3.7. Breast cancer incidence rate among women in the main population group...
Table 3.8. Cancer incidence rates in the main population groups affected by the ...
Table 3.9. Cardiovascular diseases and relationship with dose received (modified...
Table 3.10. Incidence (per 100,000) of the 12 disease groups among liquidators (...
Table 3.11. Incidence (per 100,000) of morbidity among adults and adolescents in...
Table 3.12. Impacts (per 100,000) of juvenile morbidity in Gomel province, Belar...
Table 3.13. The number of acute radiation syndromes among liquidators (adapted f...
Table 3.14. Assessment of cancer deaths caused by the Chernobyl disaster since 1...
Table 3.15. Number of additional deaths in Belarus, Ukraine and European Russia ...
Table 3.16. Estimation of the various exposed populations following the Chernoby...
Table 3.17. Average deposition of 137Cs from the most contaminated regions of th...
Table 3.18. Estimate of the cumulative effective doses over 50 years received by...
Table 3.19. Average deposition of 137Cs in the administrative regions of France ...
Chapter 4
Table 4.1. Quantities of radionuclides released directly into the Pacific Ocean ...
Table 4.2. Provisional regulatory values in different food categories applicable...
Table 4.3. Provisional regulatory values in different food categories applicable...
Table 4.4. Areas of agricultural land in hectares variously contaminated with ce...
Table 4.5. Concentrations of iodine 131 and cesium 137 in water, milk, vegetable...
Table 4.6. Thyroid doses in the first year for the most exposed group of adults ...
Table 4.7. Percentages of workers who received various effective doses (modified...
Table 4.8. Worker exposure scenarios for health risk assessment (modified from [...
Table 4.9. Estimated doses to various organs under the four scenarios (modified ...
Table 4.10. Groundwater pollution in the vicinity of the harbor between pumping ...
Chapter 5
Table 5.1. Overexposure accidents to ionizing radiation reported by sector and t...
Table 5.2. Loss of sealed sources resulting in deaths among members of the publi...
Table 5.3. Loss of sealed sources that have caused serious injury to the public ...
Table 5.4. List of accidents in industrial irradiation facilities (adapted from ...
Table 5.5. Examples of TBq thresholds (constant D) of the most dangerous categor...
Table 5.6. Main radiotherapy accidents involving patients and leading to erroneo...
Table 5.7. The main causes of accidents in radiotherapy and brachytherapy (accor...
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1. Chronology of the main criticality accidents (adapted from [MCL 00])...
Figure 1.2. Trends in the various types of nuclear and radiological accidents wi...
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1. The nuclear fuel cycle (modified from [TUR 97, PAT 02, NAU 08])
Figure 2.2. The radioactive family of uranium 238 and its derivatives (according...
Figure 2.3. Diagram of the Lucens experimental nuclear power plant (adapted from...
Figure 2.4. Isotopic composition of plutonium in sediments (full circles) and su...
Figure 2.5. Standardized collective effective dose per unit of energy production...
Figure 2.6. Changes in the number of workers (in thousands) under surveillance (...
Figure 2.7. Number of accidents involving nuclear reactors or causing high irrad...
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1. Displacement of the radioactive plume over time (A April 26, B April...
Figure 3.2. Areas highly contaminated in 1986 with cesium 137 (>555 kBq.m−2) (C ...
Figure 3.3. Extractibilities of 90Sr and 137Cs from the surface soils of the Che...
Figure 3.4. Contamination of various European areas with two levels of cesium 13...
Figure 3.5. Post-accident effective dose (mSv) caused by the Chernobyl accident ...
Figure 3.6. Change over time in the contributions of the different exposure path...
Figure 3.7. Change over time in the contributions of the different exposure path...
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1. The various evacuation and recommendation orders for the Fukushima a...
Figure 4.2. The various areas around the Fukushima power plant on March 8, 2013 ...
Figure 4.3. Relationship between the quantities of 137Cs deposited (Bq.m−2) and ...
Figure 4.4. Overview of the most important processes concerning the radionuclide...
Figure 4.5. Estimates of dose rates received by various ecosystems in the areas ...
Figure 4.6. Schematic representation of the growth of Japanese pines on control ...
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1. Distribution of the number of radiological accidents according to th...
Figure 5.2. Map of the Goiânia airport district showing the main radioactive con...
Figure 5.3. Dose rates (μSv.h-1) around the DF house located on street 15A (adap...
Figure 5.4. Plan of the junkyard and its vicinities in Bangkok (Thailand) (adapt...
Conclusion
Figure C.1. Temporal changes in the numbers of accidents and the number of nucle...
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
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Radioactive Risk Set
coordinated byJean-Claude Amiard
Volume 2
Industrial and Medical Nuclear Accidents
Environmental, Ecological, Health and Socio-economic Consequences
Jean-Claude Amiard
First published 2019 in Great Britain and the United States by ISTE Ltd and John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licenses issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned address:
ISTE Ltd
27-37 St George’s Road
London SW19 4EU
UK
www.iste.co.uk
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
111 River Street
Hoboken, NJ 07030
USA
www.wiley.com
© ISTE Ltd 2019
The rights of Jean-Claude Amiard to be identified as the author of this work have been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2019933513
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978-1-78630-334-9
Preface
The danger posed by radioactivity came to light a few days after the discovery of this phenomenon by the very person who discovered “uraniferous salts”, Professor Henri Becquerel himself, when a red mark and then a burn appeared on his skin within the space of a few days when he left a tube of radium in his jacket pocket. This did not prevent radioactivity from becoming a great attraction to the public, since it had amazing virtues. A person apparently just had to drink radioactive waters, consume food and use medicines containing radium, dress in wool containing radium, use radioactive cosmetics and have watches and clocks whose needles were luminous due to this radioactive element. This enthusiasm continued into the 1930s [AMI 13a].
The dangerous nature of radioactivity was confirmed by research scientists, such as Marie Curie, by uranium miners subjected to high levels of exposure to radon and its decay products, and by radiologists who irradiated themselves intensely at the same time as their patients, accumulating their exposure over time.
While the danger of radioactivity is well known today, radioactive risk is nevertheless tricky to estimate because it depends on numerous different parameters. Radiosensitivity is mainly a function of the intensity of exposure (dose), and also of the distribution of this dose over time (absorbed dose per unit of time). The effects on organic molecules of various ionizing rays (alpha, beta, gamma, neutron emitters) are very different. In addition, the radioactive risk depends on which radionuclide is involved, or rather, on the mixture of radionuclides affecting the organism.
In addition, some cells are more radiosensitive than others. This is true for both plant and animal species, in addition to sensitivity differences between individuals. In a single species, in most cases, the first stages of life (embryo, fetus, child) are much more radiosensitive than adults and old people [AMI 16].
Nuclear accidents are covered in a series of three volumes. The first volume is dedicated to definitions and classifications of nuclear accidents of military origin. It then tackles the consequences of the actions taken in warfare at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, then atmospheric testing of nuclear bombs and accidents that occurred during underground testing. The use of military force to act as a nuclear deterrent has caused various accidents, in particular among submarines and bomber aircraft. This first volume also considers the various accidents that have occurred during the manufacture of nuclear weapons, in particular those of criticality. This book finishes with estimations of the effects of a possible nuclear war.
This book, the second volume in the series, is dedicated to accidents related to civilian use of nuclear technology, from the points of view of civil engineering, the production of electricity and tools for human health (in particular, detection and radiotherapy). Electricity production depends on several stages. Yet, accidents can occur at various stages of the fuel cycle, from mining to reprocessing of the exhausted fuel. Specific chapters are devoted to accidents that occurred in the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear reactors. A later chapter evokes the possible consequences of acts of terrorism. For each of the first two volumes, the consequences of nuclear accidents are detailed for the terrestrial, freshwater and marine environments and their flora and fauna, human health, as well as sociological, psychological and economic consequences.
The third volume will expand on the future management of nuclear accidents, in particular looking at activities involving decontamination, feedback, post-accident management, risk, perception, Industrial Intervention Plans (PPIs in France) and the need to take potential accidents into account during project design.
The book also includes a list of acronyms.
Nuclear accidents and disasters have given rise to an abundant literature. Why produce more books on the subject? Many books are openly pro- or anti-nuclear. The intention of the volumes in this series is to provide the reader with a clear, transparent and objective summary of the relevant scientific literature.
Jean-Claude AMIARDMarch 2019
Acknowledgments
Claude Amiard-Triquet (Honorary Research Director, CNRS, France) has taken on the onerous task of re-reading, annotating and casting a critical eye over the French version of this book, and Professor Philip Rainbow (former Keeper of Zoology, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom) has done the same for the English version. I warmly thank them both for their time and efforts.
A certain number of colleagues have made documents available to me and I am grateful for this. They are in particular Christelle Adam-Guillermin from the IRSN, Pierre-Marie Badot at the Université de Besançon, Mariette Gerber from INSERM in Montpellier, Anders Pape Møller from the CNRS at the Université de Paris Sud (Orsay) and Timothy Mousseau at the University of South Carolina and Jean-Claude Zerbib (radiation protection expert). I hope I have not forgotten anyone.
I would also like to thank the members of the GNRC (Nord-Cotentin Radioecology Group), a multi-faceted group, for the remarkable work that they have accomplished, working together in complete harmony.
List of Acronyms
ACRO:
Association pour le Contrôle de la Radioactivité dans l’Ouest
(French Association for the Management of Radioactivity in Western France)
AF:
Accumulation Factor
ALPS:
Advanced Liquid Processing System
ARS:
Acute Radiation Syndrome
ASN:
Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire
(French Nuclear Safety Authority)
ASTRAL:
Assistance technique en radioprotection post-accidentel
(French Technical Assistance for Post-accident Radiation Protection)
ATSDR:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
BMI:
Body Mass Index
BNFL:
British Nuclear Fuels
BOC:
Bialystok Oncology Center
CEA:
Commissariat à l’Énergie Atomique
(French Atomic Energy Commission)
CI:
Confidence Interval
CLL:
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
CNEVA:
Centre National d’Études Vétérinaires et Alimentaires
(National Center for Veterinary and Food Studies)
CR:
Concentration Ratio
CRIIRAD:
Commission de Recherche et d’Information Indépendantes sur la RADioactivité
(Commission for Independent Research and Information about RADiation)
CRN:
Commission de Régulation Nucléaire
CSM:
Centre de Stockage des déchets à vie longue et haute activité de la Manche
CTCAE:
Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events
EBRD:
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
EDF:
Electricité de France
(Electricity of France)
EEZ:
Exclusive Economic Zone
EHL:
Ecological Half-Life
EIS:
Événements Intéressants la Sûreté
(Events of Interest for Safety)
EMEX:
Estonian Metal Export Company
ERR.Gy
−1
:
Excess Relative Risk per Gray exposure
FA:
Fluctuating Asymmetry
FEPC:
Federation of Japanese Electricians
FNPP:
Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
GSH:
Glutathione
HPIP:
Human Performance Investigation Process
IAEA:
International Atomic Energy Agency
ICPR:
International Commission on Radiological Protection
IGAS:
General Inspectorate of Social Affairs
IICPH:
International Institute of Concern for Public Health
INES:
International Nuclear Event Scale
INRS:
Institut National de Recherche et de Sécurité
(French National Institute of Research and Safety)
ION:
Instituto Oncológico Nacional
IPPNW:
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
IRS:
Incident Reporting System
IRSN:
Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté
(French Institute for Radiation Protection and Safety)
ISF:
Interim Storage Facility
ISS:
Incidents Significatifs pour la Sûreté
(Safety Significant Incidents)
JCO:
Japan Nuclear Fuels Conversion Company
KMPS:
Kurion Mobile Processing System
LCHA:
Laboratoire Central d'Hygiène Alimentaire
LDIR:
Low-Dose Ionizing Radiation
LILW:
Low- to Intermediate-Level Waste
LNT:
Linear No Threshold
LWPE:
Leningrad Regional Waste Processing Enterprise
MAC:
Maximum Allowable Concentration
MAS:
Maximum Acceptable Standard
MEL:
Laboratoire de l’environnement marin
(French Marine Environment Laboratory)
MHA:
Medium- and High-Level Waste
MoE:
Ministry of the Environment
MT:
Metallothionein
NAMS:
Nuclear Accident Magnitude Scale
NEA:
Nuclear Energy Agency
NHL:
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
NISA:
Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency
NMRD:
Non-Malignant Respiratory Disease
NPP:
Nuclear Power Plant
NRC:
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
NRU:
National Research Universal reactor
NSSA:
Nuclear Safety and Security Agency
OECD:
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
OFPP:
Office Fédéral de la Protection de la Population
(French Federal Office for the Protection of the Population)
OR:
Odds Ratio
PTSD:
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PUNE:
Peaceful Underground Nuclear Explosion
RDP:
Radon Degradation Product
RER:
Relative Excess Risk
SCPRI:
Service Central de Protection contre les Rayonnements Ionisants
(Central Protection Service Against Ionizing Radiation)
SdP:
Pumping Stations
SFRO:
Société Française de Radiothérapie Oncologique
(French Society of Oncological Radiotherapy)
SFRP:
Société Française de Radioprotection
(French Radioprotection Society)
SIR:
Standardized Incidence Ratio
SME:
Small and Medium-sized Enterprise
SOL:
Safety through Organizational Learning
SRE:
Sodium Reactor Experiment
SS:
Suspended Solids
SSFL:
Santa Susana Field Laboratory
TEPCO:
Tokyo Electric Power Company
TF:
Transfer Factor
THORP:
Thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant
TMI:
Three Mile Island
TPS:
Treatment Planning System
TSH:
Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone
UAM:
Unit-Alpha-Months
UNSCEAR:
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation
WANO:
World Association of Nuclear Operators
2Accidents Related to Nuclear Power Production
2.1. Introduction
In the first volume of this series on radioactive risk, we have reviewed nuclear accidents of military origin. We must now address civil nuclear accidents. Atomic energy is mainly used to produce electricity in nuclear reactors and relies on a set of industries capable of extracting, concentrating, transforming, using, reprocessing and reusing nuclear fuel (mainly uranium and plutonium). Nuclear accidents can occur at any stage of the fuel cycle. However, unfortunate experience has shown that nuclear reactors and spent fuel reprocessing plants are the most frequent and most serious locations for accidents. The consequences of accidents remain local when releases are low, regional for medium releases and global only for the most serious accidents.
2.2. Accidents in the nuclear fuel cycle
The nuclear fuel cycle is shown in Figure 2.1. To our knowledge, there have been no significant incidents in mines and factories where nuclear fuel is concentrated, converted and enriched. Significant incidents and accidents have occurred in manufacturing plants, nuclear reactors and spent fuel reprocessing plants.
Figure 2.1.The nuclear fuel cycle (modified from [TUR 97, PAT 02, NAU 08])
2.2.1. Uranium mines
Accidents at uranium mines have the same health consequences as those at all other mines and cannot therefore be identified as nuclear accidents. On the other hand, uranium mines, especially underground uranium mines, are areas where radiation sources are significant. This is owing, in particular, to radon concentrations that can exceed 100,000 Bq.m−3 [CCS 11]. This radon comes from the decay of elements of the families of uranium and thorium (mainly uranium 238), which give rise to various radon isotopes (mainly radon 222), which are in a gaseous state and accumulate in mine galleries. Radon isotopes decay in a cascade into various radionuclides that are in a solid state and when inhaled into the lungs are deposited as radioactive dust that may have health consequences (Figure 2.2).
Figure 2.2.The radioactive family of uranium 238 and its derivatives (according to AMI 13a]). For a color version of the figure, see www.iste.co.uk/amiard/industrial.zip
One of the few accidents with environmental and health impacts is one in Puerco, USA. In 1968, 27 km northeast of the town of Gallup, near the town of Church Rock, New Mexico, United Nuclear began operating the largest underground uranium mine in the United States. The mine waste was stored in three large ponds, each closed off by a dike of earth. Residents near the mine were almost entirely native Navajo and used the Puerco River as a source of water for their livestock. In the early morning hours of July 16, 1979, fewer than 4 months after the high-profile Three Mile Island accident was reported, one of the earth dams gave way near Church Rock Mill. The 6 m-wide dam released approximately 1,100 tons of radioactive waste, and 95 million gallons (360 million liters) of effluent reached the Puerco River in North Fork. In addition to the river, groundwater was affected up to more than 130 km downstream of the dike [BRU 07].
2.2.2. Milling, conversion, enrichment and fuel manufacturing plants
The most serious accident in a civilian manufacturing plant is the Tokai-Mura accident. This site is a major nuclear complex, with a spent fuel reprocessing plant, a uranium reprocessing plant and experimental reactors. The site is located in Japan 160 km from Tokyo. The plant where the accident occurred is owned by the Japan Nuclear Fuels Conversion Company (JCO), a subsidiary of the Sumitomo Trust. It converts uranium hexafluoride (UF6) enriched in uranium 235 into uranium oxide (UO2) for the manufacture of nuclear fuel. The conversion is carried out by a “wet process”: uranium, initially in the form of gaseous UF6, is transformed in the presence of water and then ammonia before being calcined in a furnace to obtain uranium oxide powder.
On Thursday, September 30, 1999, at about 3:30 p.m., following a human error in the quantity of fissile material introduced into the furnace, a so-called criticality accident occurred. The quantity of uranium introduced into a settling tank was indeed abnormally high (16.6 kg) and far exceeded the safety level (2.3 kg). This accident resulted in contamination outside the plant, and three workers were seriously injured. It was classified at level 4 on the INES.
In France, the first stages of the fuel cycle are not immune to accidents, and radioactive releases into the environment are not always negligible. This was the case at the Pierrelatte (Comurhex) plant in 1977 (January 1 and November 25) where several tons of uranium hexafluoride leaked into the atmosphere without apparently contaminating the soil away from the plant site. A 30 m3 leak of a solution containing 74 kg of uranium occurred on July 9, 2008 in a plant at the Tricastin nuclear site in Bollène (Vaucluse), part of which spilled into surrounding rivers [AMI 13a].
2.2.3. Nuclear reactors
The largest use of nuclear energy is in the production of electricity. This is the area with the highest number of accidents. Table 2.1 lists accidents classified as severe on the INES with a rating of 3 or more. Subsequently, the three most serious civil accidents (Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi) will be detailed.
Table 2.1.The most significant accidents that have occurred in civil nuclear installations. G: severity on the INES
G
Date
Site, country
Type of installation (number of years)
Type of accident
3
06/01/1981
La Hague, France
Reprocessing plant (15 years)
Fire in a storage silo
16/08/1989
Gravelines, France
PWR reactor (9 years)
Inadequate screw in the primary circuit’s valve
19/10/1989
Vandellos, Spain
Gas-graphite reactor (17 years)
Fire of a turbo alternator unit
11/03/1997
Tokai-Mura, Japan
Fuel production plant (18 years)
Fire and explosion irradiating 37 people
10/04/2003
Paks, Hungary
PWR reactor (19 years)
Radioactive leakage in the fuel rod cleaning system
21/04/2005
THORP/Sellafield, United Kingdom
Reprocessing plant (8 years)
Leakage of radioactive liquid following a ruptured pipe
4
21/01/1969
Lucens, Switzerland
Heavy water reactor (1 year)
Cooling failure resulting in partial fusion of the reactor
17/10/1969
Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux, France
Gas-graphite reactor (1 year)
Uranium smelting Reactor shutdown for 1 year
26/09/1973
Windscale/Sellafield, United Kingdom
Reprocessing plant (22 years)
Explosion and release of radioactive materials (37 people irradiated)
07/12/1975
Lubmin, Germany
PWR reactor (1 year)
Short circuit on the reactor transformer, fire and destruction of cooling pump supply
22/02/1977
Bohunice, Slovakia
Gas-cooled heavy water reactor (5 years)
Core corrosion and power failure during fuel changeover
13/03/1980
Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux, France
Gas-graphite reactor (9 years)
Uranium melting and damaged core (corrosion)
30/09/1999
Tokai-Mura, Japan
Fuel fabrication plant (22 years)
Uranium dosing error and explosion (three irradiated, two deaths)
5
10/10/1957
Windscale
Military reactor (11 years)
Fire
28/03/1979
Three Mile Island, United States
PWR reactor (1 year)
Partial fusion of the reactor core
6
1957
Kyshtym, USSR
Reprocessing plant (?)
Explosion (>10 PBq
131
I)
7
26/04/1986
Chernobyl, USSR (Ukraine)
Pressure tube reactor (3 years)
Explosion and partial melting of the core
11/03/2011
Fukushima-Daiichi, Japan
BWR reactors (36–40 years old)
Cooling shutdown and partial core melting of three reactors
2.2.3.1. Accident at the Simi Valley nuclear power plant
The Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) was a test site used for rockets and nuclear reactors, located 40 km from the geographical center of the Los Angeles metropolitan area (California), near Simi Valley.
