"If nuclear power is the
answer…it must have been a very stupid question."
Professor Ian Lowe,
President of the Australian Conservation Foundation
IMPORTANT:
This site will not refer to waste from
nuclear processing as DU (Depleted Uranium) but in a closer term to
what it actually is, PW (Processing waste). The use of the term DU
is an industry and government method of concealing the truth about
what PW really is and the dangers involved in its use. By using the
word depleted people are removed from the fact that PW is long term
radioactive, extremely dangerous and contains, amongst other things,
quantities of plutonium. PW is the waste from mining, processing and
fusion.
Currently PW is used in all traditionally lead
based munitions by a number of countries, it is loaded by hand, used
in countries world wide and even used in military exercises in
Australia by our American allies. It has caused radioactive
contamination in Iraq, Afghanistan and Serbia (and more) under the
name "conventional warfare". It's use in weapons is in effect the
use of dirty weapons and constitutes nuclear warfare.
Update
Rudd Government election promises
buried as they now support uranium mining. Geothermal not supported at
all in the new budget and solar rebates are now inaccessible to most
Australians. So much for Peter Garrett greening up Labour.
It seem the nuclear industry didn't
have to put much effort in to buying out our new federal labour
government. Labour even killed of the potential for alternate energy
having an impact any time soon to strengthen the argument for nuclear
power.
Peter Florance
President CLEAN
CONTENTS
1.
Foreword
2. A
History of nuclear "Incidents"
3. Why
would you dig it up?
4. Technology;
it most certainly it is not!
5. Pay
for your power twice, it's only fair
6. Pay
again with your life (and your families)
7. Good
News
8. Links
and references
Foreword :
Peter "Flora" Florance, President of CLEAN
- - - - - - - -
Top
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I have my own stories of this
subject and am never surprised at what this industry does. I am however
continually surprised and what governments allow. In time it will be
governments who are taken to the high courts for compensation as they
licensed this industry and allowing it to kill and pollute without concern.
This Industry lives by the same rules as the Asbestos industry did and will
with luck suffer the same fate, the only question is how many have to die
for it to happen.
I spent 5 years in Darwin,
finishing school and starting an apprenticeship as an Instrument Fitter. In
my trade I worked with people from the Ranger Mine and were told many
stories of events at the mine. Back then it was also known that the towns
water supply was contaminated but in the manner of this industry, people
were not informed of the actual dangers they faced.
Today when we hear about leaks
and are shocked but back in the 80's I was told the tailings dams at Ranger
flowed over every year with the tropical rains. Since it's first years of
operation Ranger has leaked tailings water into Kakadu National Park. Since
then I have learned of some 120 reported leaks, miners showering in
contaminated water and any number of other problems.
I only wish more people had my background
knowledge, because what I was told were horror stories to be remembered.
Please read and consider then visit some
of the links at the end of the page. For more information visit our
Political Fiction
and Nuclear pages in
this site.
Peter "Flora" Florance
Page Compiler and Antinuclear
Campaigner for CLEAN.
A History of nuclear "incidents".-
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Top
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This is an industry big on
selling itself as Clean, Green and CO2 Free, and it is all a bold faced lie.
Here is a history, the best we can provide with the information available,
of nuclear environmental derogation and social irresponsibility.
For more on the fictional claim
that nuclear produces no Carbon Dioxide (CO2) visit our nuclear energy
page at
4.3.3.
Nuclear.
We have tried to put as much information on why this is not true into the
page and presented estimated CO2 emissions as well as the industries own
claims.
Fact is this industry is so
unsafe and public opinion has been so strong against it, that the very first
reactor to be commissions since the 1980s, is now under construction in
Norway. It has a revolutionary new leak-proof design which consists of a big
hole under the reactor and if there is a problem you dump all the
radioactive material in the hole, shut the door and start pouring in the
concrete. Doesn't sound so revolutionary or safe but that is what Norway was
sold by the nuclear industry.
Section
index
The
Big List
Salem
List
The BIG List
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - -
Top
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In chronological order
This is as complete a list as we
can create. We will add material as it becomes available. The key below is
so we can separate military (normally weapons) incidents from civilian
(leaks, venting and meltdown) incidents. Military incidents which had
potential to be nuclear incidents have been included in the list to show
that it could happen any time and it was just lucky it hasn't yet. Also in
the list are incidents not formally reported but as it is suspected
non-reporting happens often (especially in the civilian sector) we can only
list what we know.
Due to the number of incidents
and the limited information available, we will add to the list as
information comes to hand.
The total number of events
listed currently :
410 Still to be listed :
0
Not sourced yet :
??
(Approx.)
KEY
civilan
(reactor, storage, transportation)
miliitary (damage, age, loss,
destroyed, general)
other
(includes references to incidents without documentation
and incidents not officially reported)
wrong
doing (deliberate actions, damage, illegal trade -
sources vary in quality)
Other
(incidents we thought we should throw in for luck)
(Lucas Height reactor; Sydney and other Australian
incidents)
These
pages are put together with care to remove any
obvious speculation or dubious entries. If you have
information proving, disproving or in addition to
our list, please email the information to
.
Nuclear Smuggling
Incidents listed in some cases are from the March 20,
1996 testimony by
Director of Central Intelligence, John Deutch before the
Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee on
global proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
and illicit trafficking of nuclear materials. It is
unknown if this material is politically driven as
part of the questionable evidence gathered for the
Iraq War or if it is correct this material is listed
with "(Director of CIA John Deutch)" in the title.
Most of his intelligence seems to be from press
reporting not the CIA.
"Big list"
index (5 year periods)
Pre-1950/Undated
1950
1955
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
The Big Incidents (that we know of)
Chalk River,
Canada
Windscale,
UK
Three
Mile Island,
USA
Chernobyl,
Russia
Undated - First use of
Processing Waste (Depleted Uranium) in Weapons
Currently Nuclear waste is
being used in weapons manufacture in place of lead.
During the Iraq war thousands
of ton of PW (Processing waste) has been used in a
deliberate process of radioactive/nuclear poising. This
process is referred to by the Us Government as Dirty Bombing
and is a danger posed by terrorists. What is good for the
gander is "not" good for the goose under the current US
leadership.
Several war fronts are or have been
contaminated by PW and as many as 11 countries are using PW in
"conventional" weapons. When fired PW munitions burn very hot on impact and
cause a fine dust of radioactive particles (to fine to be filtered
effectively) to be released into the environment. Troops and support persons
are also not told of the dangers involved in storing and handling this
material and are known to load these munitions by hand.
This use of nuclear waste even goes on in war
games in Australia. The previous federal government refused to demand that
the US military not use PW in war games or field exercises giving the US
military freedom to use "dirty" weapons on our soil with our troops. To our
knowledge the Rudd government has not addressed this problem.
This is new method of waste
disposal for the nuclear industry and an additional income.
It also has the advantage, as is the case in Iraq, of
getting the waste out of the US and saving on storage costs.
Gulf war syndrome (the range of health problems associated with gulf war
veterans) as is has been called is now being recognised to have the same
symptoms as radiation poisoning.
August
6, 1945 - Nuclear bomb dropped on the Japanese
city of Hiroshima
Deliberate bombing of Japan
killing civilians months after Japans first reported
attempts at surrender.
August
9, 1945 - Nuclear bomb dropped on the Japanese
city of Nagasaki
Second deliberate bombing of
Japan killing civilians months after Japans first reported
attempts at surrender.
July
25, 1946 - US nuclear test "Baker" causes
unexpected plutonium contamination on target
vessels.
December 2, 1949
- Hanford nuclear weapons complex, USA - US
experiment "Green Run"
Contaminates
communities up to 70 miles away from the
1950
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February
13, 1950, off the Coast of British Columbia
An American B-36
bomber was forced to jettison a weapon which exploded on
impact. The bomber, carrying one weapon containing a dummy
warhead, was flying a simulated combat mission from Eilson
Air Force Base, near Fairbanks, Alaska, to Carswell Air
Force Base in Fort Worth, Texas. After six hours of flight
the bomber experienced mechanical problems and was forced to
shut down three of its engines at an altitude of 12,000
feet. Fearing that severe weather and icing would jeopardize
a safe emergency landing, the weapon was jettisoned over the
Pacific Ocean from a height of 8,000 feet. The weapon's high
explosives exploded upon impact. All sixteen crew members
and one passenger were able to parachute to safety and were
subsequently rescued from Princess Royal Island.
The Pentagon's
summary report does not mention if the weapon was later
recovered.
April
11, 1950, Manzano Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico
A B-29 bomber
carrying a nuclear weapon, four spare detonators, and a crew
of thirteen crashed into a mountain near Manzano Base in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. The crash occurred within three
minutes of departure from the Kirtland Air Force Base in
Albuquerque, New Mexico, and resulted in a major fire which
was reported by the New York Times as being visible
from "fifteen miles." The bomb's casing was completely
demolished and its high explosives ignited upon contact with
the plane's burning fuel. However, according to the DoD, the
four spare detonators and all nuclear components were
recovered. A nuclear detonation was not possible because the
weapon's core, while being carried on-board, was not placed
in the weapon for safety reasons. All thirteen crew members
were killed.
July 13, 1950, Lebanon, Ohio
A B-50 bomber
carrying a nuclear weapon without its fissile core crashed
while on a training mission from Biggs Air Force Base near
El Paso, Texas. Mechanical difficulties caused the bomber to
nosedive from a height of 7,000 feet and crash. The weapon's
high explosives detonated upon impact, causing an explosion
felt well over 25 miles away and creating a crater 25 feet
deep and 200 feet square. Four officers and twelve airmen
were killed in the accident.
August 5, 1950, Suisun Air Force Base, Fairfield,
California
A B-29 bomber
carrying a nuclear weapon without its fissile core crashed
and burned near a trailer park occupied by 200 families. The
crew experienced difficulty with the aircraft's propellers
and with retracting its landing gear immediately after
takeoff from Fairfield-Suisun Air Force Base (now Travis Air
Force Base), eventually crashing while attempting an
emergency landing. The bomber was carrying 10-12 500 lb.
conventional explosive bombs, which detonated 15 minutes
after the crash. The ensuing blast was felt as far as 30
miles away and created a crater 20 yards across and six feet
deep. The crash and subsequent detonation killed eighteen
personnel, including Air Force General Travis, and injured
60 others.
November 10, 1950, St. Lawrence River, St.
Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Canada
A B-50 bomber
was forced to jettison a nuclear weapon containing high
explosives (HE) but no nuclear material, causing the HE to
detonate on impact. The bomb exploded near the middle of the
12 mile wide St. Lawrence River, rattling the windows of
houses across a 25 mile area. The accident occurred not long
after takeoff when the aircraft lost power in two of its
engines during a training flight as it was returning from
Labrador, Canada, to its home base at Davis-Monthan AFB in
Tucson, Arizona. Although the Pentagon's 1980 summary of
nuclear accidents did not specifically mention the
accident's location other than to say they were "over water,
outside the United States," news reports and eyewitness
accounts identified the location as being over the St.
Lawrence River near St. Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Canada. The
DoD documents do not mention whether the weapon was
recovered.
December 12,
1952
-
Chalk River, Ontario
-
World's first major nuclear reactor disaster
Reactor
shutoff rod failure, combined with several operator errors.
Major
power excursion
of more than double the reactor's rated output at
AECL's
NRX
reactor.
Cover gas system failure led to hydrogen explosions, which
severely damaged the reactor core. Approximately 30 kg of
uranium was released through the reactor stack. Irradiated
light-water coolant leaked from the damaged coolant circuit
into the reactor building; some 4,000 cubic meters were
pumped via pipeline to a disposal area to avoid
contamination of the
Ottawa River.
The core of the reactor was buried as waste and hundreds of
US and Canadian servicemen were ordered to participate in
the clean-up. According to ANSTO, the accident led to a
significant release of radioactivity, but there were no
reported injuries but workers and repair crews were not
informed of the extreme danger until some time after the
cleanup was completed. The clean up took a total of six
months to complete.
No long term health
studies have been undertaken at Chalk river however reports
of high cancer rates and cancers which are uncommon in
non-nuclear communities are being reported. These cancers
are being explained by health officials as natural and still
no study is being undertaken.
In recent history
Chalk river was closed as it was considered unsafe. Chalk
River reactor was designed without a backup cooling system,
a major safety concern and required equipment in all new
reactors. The nuclear safety commissioner was then sacked
and the Canadian government is pushing to reopen Chalk
River. This is reasoned from the economic point and the fact
that Chalk River produces a majority of the worlds medical
isotopes. The health and welfare of the reactors neighbours
is not considered in the arguments.
Chalk river was to
be replaced by two new reactors. Faults in design, safety
issues and construction problems may stop the replacement
reactors ever going on line, the best expected time is
around 10 years.
Chalk River Canada.
More
information about Chalk River
1952
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,822855,00.html
(PDF
time
chalk river.pdf)
Human Cost
http://www.ccnr.org/paulson_legacy.html (PDF
chalk river human cost.pdf)
Fired Canadian Nuclear
Safety Commission president Linda Keen about closure of
plant
unsafe.pdf
Reopening
Unsafe reactor
(no backup coolin system)
Opening again.pdf
October 14, 1953
- British nuclear test "Totem" - Australia
Fall-out contaminates Aborigines and Servicemen
March
1, 1954 - Pacific island of Rongelap.
Fall-out of US nuclear
weapons test "Bravo" contaminates the inhabitants
1955
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November 9, 1955
- EBR fast breeder reactor, USA - Core meltdown
January
9, 1956, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico
An incident
involving a B-36 bomber carrying one or more nuclear weapons
occurred on January 9, 1956, at Kirtland AFB in New Mexico,
according to a February 1991 report by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The report, however,
provides no further details on the type of weapon involved
or of any damage to the weapons onboard.
March
10, 1956, Over the Mediterranean Sea
A B-47 bomber
carrying two nuclear weapon cores in their carrying cases
disappeared over the Mediterranean Sea. The aircraft, on a
nonstop flight from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa,
Florida, to an undisclosed overseas airbase, was lost with
its crew. After takeoff the B-47 was scheduled for two
in-flight-refuelings before reaching its final destination.
The first refueling was successfully completed, but the
aircraft never made contact with the second refueling tanker
over the Mediterranean Sea. Despite an extensive search, no
trace of the aircraft, the nuclear weapon cores, or crew,
were ever found.
July
27, 1956 - US plane crashes into nuclear
ammunition storage in the UK
July 27,
1956, Lakenheath Royal Air Force Station, England
A B-47 bomber
crashed into a storage igloo containing three MK-6 nuclear
weapons while on a routine training mission at the
Lakenheath Royal Air Force Station, 20 miles northeast of
Cambridge, England. Although the bombs involved in the
accident did not have their fissile cores installed, each of
them carried about 8,000 pounds of high explosives as part
of their trigger mechanism. The crash and ensuing fire did
not ignite the high explosives and no detonation occurred. A
retired Air Force general who was in England said later that
if the weapons' high explosives had detonated, releasing
radioactive material, "it is possible that a part of Eastern
England would have become a desert." Another Air Force
officer present at the scene said that it was only through
"a combination of tremendous heroism, good fortune and the
will of God" that a horrific nuclear weapons accident was
avoided. The damaged weapons and components were later
returned to the Atomic Energy Commission. The B-47 involved
in the accident, which killed four crewmen, was part of the
307th Bombardment Wing.
May
22, 1957 - New Mexico, USA
Human error
causes a B-36 plane to release a nuclear bomb.
May
22, 1957, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico
A nuclear weapon
without its fissile core fell from the bomb bay of a B-36 at
an altitude of 1,700 feet and exploded upon impact. The
bomber was transporting both the weapon and its fissile
core, which had been removed for safety, from Biggs Air
Force Base in Texas to Kirtland Air Force Base in New
Mexico. Although parachutes attached to the weapon were
deployed during its descent, they did not function properly.
The nuclear weapon was completely destroyed in the
detonation which occurred approximately 4.5 miles south of
the Kirtland control tower and 0.3 miles west of the Sandia
Base reservation, creating a blast crater approximately 25
feet in diameter and 12 feet deep. Fragments of the bomb and
debris were scattered over a one mile area. A radiological
survey of the area was conducted, but revealed no
radioactive contamination beyond the lip of the crater.
July
28, 1957 - US plane loses two nuclear bombs in
the Atlantic
July 28,
1957, Over the Atlantic Ocean
A C-124
transport aircraft that was having mechanical problems
jettisoned two nuclear weapons without their fissile cores
off the east coast of the United States. The C-124 was en
route from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware when it lost
power to its number one and two engines. The crew determined
that level flight could not be maintained with the weight of
the weapons onboard and decided to jettison the cargo.
Although neither weapon detonated, both are presumed to have
been damaged from impact with the ocean surface and to have
sunk almost instantly. Neither the weapons nor debris were
ever found. The C-124 safely landed at an airfield near
Atlantic City, New Jersey, with the remaining weapon and
nuclear warhead aboard.
September
11, 1957 - Rocky Flats nuclear weapons complex, USA
- Nuclear Fire
15kg of
plutonium catch fire.
September
29, 1957 - Chelyabinsk nuclear complex,
Russia - Leak
Thousands
of square miles contaminated by accident.
October 10, 1957
- Windscale (now Sellafield), UK - Nuclear Fire
World's first major
release of radioactive material
Three tonnes of uranium
in the core
catch fire. The first indication that there was a leak was
detected a half mile away from the plant not on site.
The fire was only controlled when after all else had
been tried, as a last resort option the reactor was
flooded with water. As usual with nuclear incidents the
leak was downplayed by health officials as not causing
any health problems.
The
Government later attributes 39 cancer deaths to mishap.
In recently released
tapes of the inquiry into the
accident, it has been revealed why the politicians covered up the causes of
the accident. Scientists in Britain had been warning about the dangers of an
accident for some time. The politicians and the military ignored the
warnings; instead increasing the demand on Windscale to produce material for
an H-bomb. A succession of prime ministers since the war had been determined
to persuade the Americans to share the secret of their nuclear weapons with
Britain. Prime Minister of that time, Harold Macmillan believed that, if
Britain could develop an H-bomb on the scale of the Americans', they would
treat it as a nuclear equal and form an alliance.
More information can
be found at these links from a pro-nuclear source.
http://www.nucleartourist.com/events/windscal.htm
or
windscal.pdf
October
11, 1957, Homestead Air Force Base, Homestead, Florida
A B-47 bomber
carrying a nuclear weapon and its separated fissile core
crashed shortly after takeoff. The aircraft crashed in an
inhabited area approximately 3,800 feet from the end of the
runway, enveloping the nuclear weapon and its fissile core
in flames which burned and smoldered for approximately four
hours. Although two small explosions occurred during the
burning, the weapon core and its carrying case were
recovered intact and only slightly damaged by the heat.
Approximately one-half of the weapon remained and all its
major components were recovered but damaged.
January 31, 1958, Unidentified Overseas Base
A B-47 bomber
with one nuclear weapon in strike configuration was making a
simulated takeoff during an exercise when the left rear
wheel casting failed, causing the tail to strike the runway
and rupturing the fuel tank. The aircraft caught fire and
burned for seven hours. Although the weapon's high
explosives did not detonate, there was some contamination in
the area immediately surrounding the crash. Following the
accident, exercise alerts were temporarily suspended. The
crash may have taken place at a U.S. airbase in Sidi Slimane,
French Morocco. An earlier Air Force document reported that
"contamination of the wreckage was high, but that of the
surrounding area was low." A June 8, 1960, New York
Times report mentions a nuclear weapon accident having
occurred "at a United States field near Tripoli, Libya," but
provides no further details.
February
5, 1958, Savannah River, Georgia
A nuclear weapon
without a fissile core was lost following a mid-air
collision. A B-47 bomber carrying a nuclear weapon without
its fissile core collided with a F-86 aircraft near
Savannah, Georgia. Following three unsuccessful attempts to
land the plane at Hunter Air Force Base in Georgia, the
weapon was jettisoned to avoid the risk of a high explosive
detonation at the base. The weapon was jettisoned into the
water several miles from the mouth of Savannah River in
Wassaw Sound off Tybee Beach, but the precise point of
impact is unknown. The weapon's high explosives did not
detonate on impact. A subsequent search covering three
square miles used divers and sonar devices, but failed to
find the weapon. The search was ended on April 16, 1958, and
the weapon was considered to be irretrievably lost.
February
12, 1958 not fully documented but referenced in other documents,
accident
involving a B-47 near Savannah, Georgia. "The best estimate"
of the weapon's location, an earlier DoD narrative noted,
"was determined to be 31 degrees 54' 15" North, 80 degrees
54' 45" West." The B-47 was on a simulated combat mission
from Florida's Homestead Air Force Base.
February 1958, Greenham Common Airbase, England
A B-47 bomber
experiencing engine trouble during takeoff jettisoned two
full 1,700 gallon fuel tanks from an altitude of 8,000 feet,
which missed a designated safe impact area and exploded 65
feet behind a parked B-47 loaded with nuclear weapons. The
resulting fire burned for 16 hours and caused the high
explosives package of at least one weapon to explode. The
explosion released radioactive material, including powdered
uranium and plutonium oxides, at least 10 to 20 grams of
which were found off base. An adjacent hangar was also
severely damaged, and other planes nearby had to be hosed
down to prevent their ignition by the intense heat fuelled
by the jet propellant and magnesium in the B-47. The fire
killed two people, injured eight others, and destroyed the
bomber. The Air Force has never officially admitted that
nuclear weapons were involved in this accident. The Air
Force and British Ministry of Defence agreed in 1956 to deny
the existence of nuclear weapons in any accident involving
U.S. nuclear weapons stationed in England. In 1985, the
British government reported that the accident involved a
parked B-47 that was struck by a taxiing B-47 on a training
exercise, omitting any mention of the ensuing fire.
February
1958, Aircraft Unknown, Location Unknown
An unidentified
aircraft crashed "on base" while carrying a MK-7 training
weapon in February, 1958. Aircraft wreckage and weapons
parts were scattered over an area approximately 250 feet
wide by 0.25 miles long. The largest piece of weapon
recovered was located with part of the plane's tail section.
March
11, 1958, Florence, South Carolina
A B-47E
accidentally jettisoned an unarmed nuclear weapon without
its fissile core at 15,000 feet, which impacted in a
sparsely populated area 6-1/2 miles east of Florence, South
Carolina. The bomb's high explosive material exploded on
impact, causing property damage and several injuries. The
aircraft, which was heading to an undisclosed overseas base,
returned to Hunter Air Force Base in Georgia without further
incident. Numerous accounts of the accident describe the
bomb falling in the garden of Mr. Walter Gregg in Mars
Bluff, South Carolina. The high explosive detonation
virtually destroyed his house, creating a crater 50-70 feet
in diameter and 25-30 feet deep. It caused minor injuries to
Mr. Gregg and five members of his family, and damaged five
other houses as well as a church. Following the accident,
Air Force crews were ordered to "lock in" their nuclear
bombs, which reduced the possibility of accidental drops but
increased the danger during a plane crash.
March 11, 1958 - South Carolina, USA
B-47 plane flying over
South Carolina lost a nuclear bomb
May 24,
1958
-
Chalk River, Ontario
- Fuel damaged
Due to
inadequate cooling a damaged uranium fuel rod caught fire
and was torn in two as it was being removed from the core at
the
NRU
reactor. The fire was extinguished, but not before
radioactive combustion products contaminated the interior of
the reactor building and to a lesser degree the area
surrounding the laboratory site.
November
4, 1958, Dyess Air Force Base, Abilene, Texas
A B-47 bomber
carrying a nuclear weapon caught fire during takeoff and
crashed from an altitude of 1,500 feet, killing one crew
member. The resulting detonation of high explosives created
a crater 35 feet in diameter and six feet deep. Nuclear
materials from the weapon were recovered near the crash
site.
November 26, 1958, Chennault Air Force Base, Lake
Charles, Louisiana
A B-47 bomber
caught fire on the ground, destroying the single nuclear
weapon onboard. Contamination was limited to the immediate
vicinity of the aircraft wreckage.
January
18, 1959, Unspecified Pacific Base
A grounded F-100
interceptor carrying a nuclear weapon without its fissile
core burst into flames when its external fuel tanks were
inadvertently jettisoned during a practice alert. The plane
was carrying a payload of one nuclear weapon and three
external fuel tanks. The fire was doused in about seven
minutes and there were no contamination or cleanup problems.
August
18, 1959, Aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS Wasp (CVS-18)
A severe fire
aboard the aircraft carrier USS Wasp threatened to
engulf the nuclear weapons storage space and required
flooding of the forward ammunition stores. Foam was pumped
through the flight deck, and the crew prepared to flood the
nuclear weapons storage spaces. The fire was brought under
control before that command was given.
July 6, 1959, Barksdale Air Force Base, Bossier
City, Louisiana
A C-124 aircraft
transporting a nuclear weapon without its fissile core
crashed during takeoff, completely destroying the aircraft
and nuclear weapon. There was a limited amount of
contamination immediately below the destroyed weapon, but
not enough to hamper rescue or firefighting operations.
July 26,
1959
-
Santa Susana Field Laboratory,
California
- Partial meltdown
A partial
core meltdown
took place when the
Sodium Reactor Experiment
(SRE) experienced a
power excursion
that caused severe overheating of the reactor core,
resulting in the melting of one-third of the
nuclear fuel
and significant releases of
radioactive
gases.
September 25, 1959, Off Whidbey Island, Washington
A U.S. Navy P-5M
aircraft carrying an unarmed nuclear depth charge without
its fissile core crashed into Puget Sound near Whidbey
Island, Washington. The weapon was never recovered.
October 15, 1959, Hardinsberg, Kentucky
A B-52 bomber
carrying two atomic bombs collided at 32,000 feet with a
KC-135 refueling aircraft shortly after initiating refueling
procedures near Hardinsberg, Kentucky. The ensuing crash
killed 8 crew members and partially burned one of the
weapons. No nuclear material was released, however, and the
unarmed weapons were recovered intact. Both planes had
departed from Columbus Air Force Base in Mississippi.
1960
Top
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January
12, 1960 - Savannah River reprocessing plant, USA - Near
Meltdown
Technicians trying to
restart a reactor at almost send it out of control
April
3, 1960 - Test Reactor at Waltz Mills, USA - Leak
Melting of fuel elements
cause a release of radioactivity
June 7,
1960, McGuire Air Force Base, near Trenton, New Jersey
A BOMARC* air
defense missile being stored in a ready state that permitted
its launch in two minutes was destroyed after a high
pressure helium tank exploded and ruptured the missile's
fuel tanks. Although the warhead was also destroyed by the
fire, the safety devices acted properly and prevented the
weapon's high explosives from detonating. A New York
Times article described a near nuclear disaster, noting
that the missile "melted under an intense blaze fed by its
100-pound detonator TNT...The atomic warhead apparently
dropped into the molten mass that was left of the missile,
which burned for forty-five minutes." The ensuing radiation
"had been caused when thoriated magnesium metal which forms
part of the weapon, caught fire." The Pentagon report said
that only the area immediately beneath the weapon and an
adjacent elongated area approximately 100 feet long were
contaminated by water runoff from fighting the fire.
October,
5, 1960, Thule, Greenland
An early-warning
system radar malfunction falsely warned the North American
Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) headquarters of a
"massive" Soviet ballistic missile strike approaching the
United States. A fault in the computer system had removed
two zeros from the radar's ranging components, causing the
radar to detect what it believed was a possible missile
attack at 2,500 miles. The radar was actually detecting a
reflection from the moon, located 250,000 miles away.
January 3, 1961
- Idaho Falls, USA - explosion
Explosion in
reactor kills 3 people.
January
16, 1961, Undisclosed U.S. Air Force Base, Britain
A nuclear bomber
on round-the-clock alert crashed on takeoff causing spilled
fuel to erupt into flames which engulfed the aircraft at an
undisclosed USAF base in Britain. A nuclear weapon mounted
on the aircraft's centerline pylon was badly damaged before
the fire could be put out. According to secret
correspondence to the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Commission
on Atomic Energy (JCAE), the accident was so serious that
the weapon was "scorched and blistered." The U.S. Government
has never acknowledged the accident and it is not included
on the DoD's list of broken arrows.
January 19, 1961, Monticello, Utah
A B-52 bomber
carrying one or more nuclear weapons was reported to have
exploded in midair about 10 miles north of Monticello, Utah.
The bomber had left Biggs AFB near El Paso, Texas, bound for
Bismarck, North Dakota, on a routine "round-robin" training
mission. Near Monticello the aircraft began climbing from
36,000 to 40,000 feet and soon experienced a violent bump
followed by a descending right roll of about 410 degrees, a
short period of wings-level, nose-down flight, and then a
violent spin. The aircraft descended rapidly and at an
elevation of 7,000 feet broke into several pieces that
landed within an area two miles wide by 11 ½ miles long.
Observers on the ground said the plane's left-wing engine
caught fire, after which there was a midair explosion. Five
crewmen were killed in the accident.
January 29, 1961
- B-52, USA
Plane
carrying nuclear bombs crashes, the bombs do not explode but
three of the eight crew members are killed
March
14, 1961, Yuba City, California
A B-52 bomber
carrying two nuclear weapons crashed, tearing the weapons
from the aircraft on impact. The weapons' high explosive did
not detonate and their safety devices worked properly. The
aircraft had departed from Mather Air Force Base near
Sacramento and was forced to descend to 10,000 feet after
the crew compartment pressurization system failed. Flying at
the lower altitude increased the plane's fuel consumption,
causing it to run out of fuel prior to its scheduled
rendezvous with a tanker.
July 4,
1961 - Soviet nuclear submarine "K- 19"
Incident on board , radiation release
kills 9 crew members.
June 4,
1962, Pacific Ocean Near Johnston Atoll
A nuclear test
device atop a Thor rocket booster fell into the Pacific
Ocean near Johnston Atoll after the booster malfunctioned
and was destroyed minutes after liftoff. The test was the
United States' first attempt at conducting a high-altitude
atmospheric nuclear test.
June 20, 1962, Thor Rocket, Pacific Island
A second attempt
to detonate a nuclear device in the high atmosphere failed
when a Thor booster malfunctioned over Johnston Atoll. The
nuclear device fell into the Pacific Ocean.
January
24, 1961, Goldsboro, North Carolina
In what nearly
became a nuclear catastrophe, a B-52 bomber on airborne
alert carrying two nuclear weapons broke apart in midair.
The B-52 experienced structural failure in its right wing
and the aircraft's resulting breakup released the two
weapons from a height of 2,000-10,000 feet. One of the
bomb's parachutes deployed properly and that weapon's damage
was minimal. However, the second bomb's parachute
malfunctioned and the weapon broke apart upon impact,
scattering its components over a wide area. According to
Daniel Ellsberg, the weapon could have accidentally fired
because "five of the six safety devices had failed." Nuclear
physicist Ralph E. Lapp supported this assertion, saying
that "only a single switch" had "prevented the bomb from
detonating and spreading fire and destruction over a wide
area."
Despite an extensive search of the waterlogged farmland
where the weapon was believed to have landed, the bomb's
highly enriched uranium core was never recovered. In order
to prevent any discovery of the lost portion of the weapon,
the Air Force purchased an easement which required that
permission be obtained before any construction or digging
could begin in the area. Three crew members were killed in
the crash.
The accident was
apparently so serious that it was reported to newly-elected
President John F. Kennedy. According to Newsweek,
President Kennedy was informed after the accident that
"there had been more than 60 accidents involving nuclear
weapons" since World War II, "including two cases in which
nuclear-tipped anti-aircraft missiles were actually launched
by inadvertence." As a result of the Goldsboro accident, the
U.S. placed many new safety devices on its nuclear arsenal
and the Soviet Union was encouraged to do the same.
October
25, 1962, Volk Field Base, Wisconsin
An alarm bell
indicating that a nuclear war with the Soviet Union was
beginning went off accidentally during the height of the
Cuban missile crisis. Pilots ran to their nuclear-armed
aircraft and were ready to take off when the mistake was
detected by an officer in the command post. The pilots were
ordered to return.
April 10,
1963 - US-nuclear submarine sinks with 123 crew members in
the Atlantic
November 13, 1963, Atomic Energy Commission Storage
Igloo, Medina Base, San Antonio, Texas
While three
employees were dismantling the high explosive (HE)
components of a nuclear bomb, they began burning
spontaneously, triggering a large blast involving 120 pounds
of HE. The explosion caused little contamination.
New York
University's Dr. Joel Larus, who investigated the incident,
was provided details of three similar incidents by the
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) on January 13, 1966.
They were:
Hamburg, New
York (January 4, 1958).An
eastbound Nickel Plate railroad freight train derailed.
Five cars carrying "AEC classified material" were
involved in the accident. According to the report there
was no damage to the material and no injury to AEC
personnel escorting the shipment.
Winslow,
Arizona (November 4, 1961).A
trailer truck caught fire while carrying a small amount
of radioactive material. There was no contamination
resulting from the fire.
Marietta,
Georgia (December 2, 1962).
A Louisville and Nashville train derailed while carrying
nuclear weapons components. The material was not
damaged, but three couriers were injured.
As these
accounts demonstrate, accidents of this nature probably
happen more frequently than reported. For instance, a
Department of Energy trailer carrying plutonium from
Richland, Washington, to New Mexico overturned on icy
roads on Interstate 25 near Fort Collins, Colorado, in
December 1980.
January
13, 1964, Cumberland, Maryland
A B-52D bomber
carrying two nuclear weapons crashed approximately 17 miles
southwest of Cumberland, Maryland. The nuclear weapons were
being transported in a tactical ferry configuration, meaning
that no mechanical or electrical connections had been made
from the bombs to the aircraft. The bomber was en route from
Westover Air Force Base in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, to
its home base at Turner Air Force Base in Albany, Georgia,
when it encountered violent turbulence. During an altitude
change from 29,500 to 33,000 feet, the aircraft encountered
more violent air turbulence and suffered structural failure.
Both weapons were recovered relatively intact.
April 21,
1964 - US-satellite disperses 1.2.kg plutonium into the
atmosphere.
December
5, 1964, Ellsworth Air Force Base, Rapid City, South Dakota
A retrorocket
located below an LGM 30B Minuteman I missile's Reentry
Vehicle (RV) fired while two repairmen were working nearby,
sending the reentry vehicle crashing down to the bottom of
its silo. The arming and fusing/altitude control subsystem
containing the RV's batteries were torn loose on impact,
removing all sources of power from the RV and causing it
considerable damage. The missile's safety devices operated
properly and did not allow the warhead to become armed. The
Minuteman I was on strategic alert.
December 8, 1964, Bunker Hill (now Grissom) Air Force Base,
Peru, Indiana
A B-58 bomber
lost control and slid off a runway during taxi, causing
portions of the five nuclear weapons onboard to burn in an
ensuing fire. There were no detonations and contamination
was limited to the immediate area of the crash.
1965
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January
4, 1965 - Savannah River reprocessing plant, USA - Release
6.5 kg plutonium sludge
released from plant.
May
10, 1965 - Savannah River reprocessing
plant, USA - Release
Release of eight
cubic metres of cooling water.
October
11, 1965, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton, Ohio
A C-124
transport aircraft containing nuclear weapons components and
a dummy training unit caught fire while being refueled. The
fire started at the aft end of the refueling trailer and
destroyed the aircraft's fuselage. There were no casualties
and the resultant radiation hazard was minimal.
December
5, 1965,
Plane crashes
with nuclear bombs on board, USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14),
Japanese Coast
An A-4E Skyhawk
strike aircraft carrying a nuclear weapon rolled off an
elevator on the U.S. aircraft carrier Ticonderoga
and fell into the sea. Because the bomb was lost at a depth
of approximately 16,000 feet, Pentagon officials feared that
intense water pressure could have caused the B-43 hydrogen
bomb to explode. It is still unknown whether an explosion
did occur. The pilot, aircraft, and weapon were lost. The
Pentagon claimed that the bomb was lost "500 miles away from
land." However, it was later revealed that the aircraft and
nuclear weapon sank only miles from the Japanese island
chain of Ryukyu. Several factors contributed to the
Pentagon's secretiveness. The USS Ticonderoga was
returning from a mission off North Vietnam; confirming that
the carrier had nuclear weapons aboard would document their
introduction into the Vietnam War. Furthermore, Japan's
anti-nuclear law prohibited the introduction of atomic
weapons into its territory, and U.S. military bases in Japan
are not exempt from this law. Thus, confirming that the USS
Ticonderoga carried nuclear weapons would signify U.S.
violation of its military agreements with Japan. The carrier
was headed to Yokosuka, Japan, and disclosure of the
accident in the mid-1980s caused a strain in U.S.-Japanese
relations.
January 17, 1966, Palomares, Spain
A B-52 bomber
carrying four hydrogen bombs collided in midair with a
KC-135 tanker near Palomares, Spain. Of the four H-bombs
aboard, two weapons' high explosive material exploded on
ground impact, releasing radioactive materials, including
plutonium, over the fields of Palomares. Approximately 1,400
tons of slightly contaminated soil and vegetation were later
taken to the United States for storage at an approved site.
A third nuclear weapon fell to earth but remained relatively
intact; the last one fell into the ocean. The weapon that
sank in the Mediterranean set off one of the largest search
and recovery operations in history. The search took about
eighty days and employed 3,000 Navy personnel and 33 Navy
vessels, not including ships, planes, and people used to
move equipment to the site. Although the midget sub "Alvin"
located the bomb after two weeks, it was not recovered until
April 7. Wreckage from the accident fell across
approximately 100 square miles of land and water. The
accident occurred during a routine high altitude air
refueling operation as the B-52 was returning to Seymour
Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, North Carolina, after
flying the southern route of the Strategic Air Command air
alert mission code named "Chrome Dome." The bomber was
attempting its third refueling with a KC-135 tanker from the
American base at Moron, when the nozzle of the tanker's boom
struck the bomber. The boom ripped open the B-52 along its
spine, snapping the bomber into pieces. The KC-135's 40,000
gallons of jet fuel ignited, killing seven crewmen.
January
19, 1966, Aboard the "USS Luce"
(DLG-7)
A W-45 nuclear
warhead separated from a Trier surface-to-air missile and
fell 8 feet while it was being loading on the frigate USS
Luce. The warhead was dented but otherwise unharmed.
The incident was first documented in the "Chronology of
Nuclear Accident Statements" released by the Department of
Defense in 1968.
October 5,
1966
-
Monroe, Michigan
- Partial meltdown
A sodium
cooling system malfunction caused a partial meltdown at the
Enrico
Fermi demonstration nuclear breeder reactor.
The accident was attributed to a zirconium fragment that
obstructed a flow-guide in the sodium cooling system. Two of
the 105 fuel assemblies melted during the incident, but no
contamination was recorded outside the containment vessel.
February 21,
1976 - Bohunice nuclear power plant, Slovakia - Accident
May
1967
-
Dumfries and Galloway,
Scotland
- Partial meltdown
Graphite
debris partially blocked a fuel channel causing a fuel
element to melt and catch fire at the
Chapelcross
nuclear power station.
Contamination was confined to the reactor core. The core was
repaired and restarted in 1969, operating until the plant's
shutdown in 2004.
November 5, 1967
- UK
nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine `HMS
Repulse' runs aground 30 minutes after its launch
November 7, 1967
- Grenoble nuclear power plant, France - Release of
radioactivity
January
21, 1968, Thule, Greenland
Four nuclear
bombs were destroyed in a fire after the B-52 bomber
carrying them crashed approximately seven miles southwest of
the runway at Thule Air Force Base in Greenland. The B-52,
from Plattsburgh Air Force Base in New York, crashed after a
fire broke out in the navigator's compartment. The pilot was
en route to Thule AFB to attempt an emergency landing. Upon
impact with the ground, the plane burst into flames,
igniting the high explosive outer coverings of at least one
of the bombs. The explosive then detonated, scattering
plutonium and other radioactive materials over an area about
300 yards on either side of the plane's path, much of it in
"cigarette box-sized" pieces. The bomber had been flying the
Arctic Circle route as part of the Strategic Air Command's
continuous airborne alert operation, code-name "Chrome
Dome." One crew member was killed in the crash. The
government of Denmark, which owns Greenland and prohibits
nuclear weapons on or over its territory, issued a strong
protest following large demonstrations in that country. A
few days after the crash, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert
McNamara ordered the removal of nuclear weapons from
airborne alert. The alerts themselves were later curtailed
and then suspended altogether.
February12, 1968 - Toronto, Canada
B-52 Crashes with nuclear
bombs on board
May
18, 1968 - Califiornia coast, USA -
satellite
Accident during
launch of US satellite, radioactive materials fall into
ocean.
May
21, 1968 - US-nuclear submarine "Scorpion"
Sinks
off the Acores, 99 people die.
May
24, 1968 - Soviet nuclear
submarine "K- 27"
Incident
on board of, 5 crew members killed by radiation release.
Spring
1968, Aboard the USS Scorpion (SSN-589) in the
Atlantic Ocean
Although the
Pentagon has not publicly released details of the accident,
it probably refers to the nuclear powered attack submarine
USS Scorpion that was lost at sea. The sub,
carrying unidentified nuclear weapons, was last heard from
on May 21, 1968, while returning to Norfolk, Virginia, after
a three month training exercise in the Mediterranean Sea.
The USS Scorpion sank 400-500 miles southwest of
the Azores. The U.S. initially suspected that the Soviet
Union was somehow involved. The suspicions were allayed when
the research ship Mizar (T-AK-272) photographed the
wreckage lying on the sea floor at 10,000 feet. A Navy court
of inquiry found "no evidence of any kind to suggest foul
play or sabotage," and found that the "certain cause of the
loss of the Scorpion cannot be ascertained from
evidence now available."
October 2, 1968
- La Hague reprocessing plant, France - Leak
January
14, 1969 - Aboard USS Enterprise, Naval Carrier
USS Enterprise, nuclear
aircraft-carrier, suffers fires and explosions, killing 28
crew members
January 21,
1969
-
Lucens,
Canton of Vaud,
Switzerland
- Explosion
A total loss of
coolant led to a power excursion and explosion of an
experimental nuclear reactor. The underground location of
this reactor acted like a containment building and prevented
any outside contamination. The cavern was heavily
contaminated and was sealed. No injuries or fatalities
resulted.
May
11, 1969 - Rocky Flats nuclear weapons
plant, USA - Nuclear Fire
Fire causes
plutonium to spontaneously ignite.
September
23, 1969 - Soviet spaceship, Russia -
Satellite
Radioactive
contamination of atmosphere during the unsuccessful launch.
October 17, 1969
- St Laurent des Eaux nuclear power plant, France - Fuel
Fault
Fuel elements
melt. Fuel loading error leads to partial meltdown.
Small amount of radioactive material escapes.
1970
Top
▲
February
22, 1970, Boetingen, West Germany
A nuclear
warhead from a Pershing ballistic missile fell to the
pavement during maintenance procedures. The launch pad was
evacuated and the area sealed off. The warhead, however, did
not detonate. The incident occurred when a crewman, working
alone in violation of regulations that require at least two
persons to be present around nuclear weapons, accidentally
removed an explosive bolt and its detonating cable, causing
the warhead to fall. The fall broke off approximately a
one-half inch piece of the missile's nosecone and also put a
two inch gouge in the nosecone and badly scratched the
warhead's ablative material. The incident was originally
reported as a "Broken Arrow," but was later downgraded to a
"Bent Spear" incident.
April 12,
1970 - Soviet nuclear submarine sinks in the Atlantic
April 14,
1970 - Soviet nuclear submarine sinks with 52 crew members
in Indian ocean
April 17,
1970 - French nuclear test site in the South Pacific
Incident
involving a vehicle causes a plutonium spillage into the
ocean.
May
28, 1970 - Collision of the US-nuclear
submarine "Daniel Boone"
November 4, 1970
- Explosion on board a nuclear-capable US-destroyer
kills two sailors
November 10, 1970, USS Canopus (AS-34)
A fire broke out
in the stern of the U.S. Navy submarine tender USS
Canopus which was carrying several nuclear-armed
missiles. The tender was at the Holy Loch submarine base in
Scotland moored alongside two American nuclear-powered
ballistic missile submarines. It took four hours to bring
the fire under control.
November 13, 1974
- Karen Silkwood, a worker at a US nuclear plant, dies
mysteriously on her way to hand important documents to a
Trade Union Official and a journalist
February 24, 1972 - Soviet nuclear-powered submarine
Accident on board causing
vessel to lose all power.
March
8, 1972 - Indian Point nuclear power plant, USA - Release
Radioactive water pumped
out of plant.
February 16,
1973 - North Sea - Transport
Container filled
with Cobalt-60 lost in the North Sea
April
20, 1973 - Hanford nuclear weapons complex, USA - Spill
Thousands of cubic meters
of radioactive waste flow out of plant.
September
24, 1973 - Sellafield
reprocessing plant, UK - Leak
35 workers are
contaminated following a technical failure.
January 7, 1974
- Leningrad nuclear power plant, Russia - Explosion
February 6, 1974 - Leningrad nuclear power plant, Russia -
Leak and Explosion
Explosion and radiation
leak, three people killed.
February
14, 1974, Plattsburgh AFB, New York
The nose landing
gear of a USAF FB-111 carrying two short range attack
air-to-surface missiles and two nuclear bombs collapsed as
the aircraft was commencing an engine run-up during an alert
exercise. There was no damage to the weapons and they were
unloaded without incident.
May 3, 1974 -
Hanford nuclear weapons complex, USA - Leak
August
20, 1974 - Beznau nuclear power plant,
Switzerland - Incident
September
3, 1974 - Los
Alamos nuclear weapons Laboratory, USA -
Release
Release of
radioactive water.
September
27, 1974 - Soviet nuclear-capable destroyer
sinks in the Black Sea
1975
Top
▲
January 8, 1975
- from Mihama nuclear power plant, Japan - Release
Release
of radioactivity from plant.
March 22, 1975 -
Browns Ferry nuclear power plant, USA - Fire in reactor
October
23, 1975, Yucca Flats, Nevada
A canister
containing a nuclear weapon's fissile core fell 40 feet to
the bottom of a shaft during preparations for an underground
nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site. The warhead had a
yield of less than 20 kilotons. Although the warhead did not
detonate and there was no leakage of radioactive material,
11 Nevada Test Site workers were injured. The device was to
be detonated as part of a series of underground tests
code-named "Peninsula." The incident was verified by U.S.
Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA)
spokesman, David Miller. According to the ERDA, safety
mechanisms built into the warhead precluded the possibility
that the device could have accidentally detonated.
November 22, 1975, Aboard the USS Belknap
(DLG-26) and USS John F. Kennedy
(CVA-67), 70
Miles East of Sicily, Italy
During night
exercises the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy
and the cruiser USS Belknap collided, lodging the
Belknap's superstructure beneath the Kennedy's
overhanging flight deck. The carrier's fuel lines
were ruptured, spreading gasoline over the deck of the Belknap,
which ignited and burned for more than two
hours.
Although this
accident is one of the best-known and well-documented
nuclear weapons accidents, the presence of nuclear weapons
onboard the Belknap and the Kennedy have
never been publicly acknowledged by the Navy or Pentagon.
However, documents obtained by Greenpeace show that minutes
after the incident occurred, the commander of Carrier
Striking Forces for the Sixth Fleet sent a secret nuclear
weapons accident message (a "Broken Arrow") to the Pentagon,
warning of the "high probability that nuclear weapons aboard
the Belknap were involved in fire and explosion."
The story has been corroborated by a retired admiral who was
aboard the Belknap at the time of the accident.
One of the ships
that came to the Belknap's aid was the
nuclear-capable frigate USS Bordelon, which
collided with the USS John F. Kennedy a year later
75 miles north of Scotland. That ship's anti-submarine
rocket (ASROC) container, where nuclear weapons would
normally be held, was nearly crushed.
November 30, 1975
- Leningrad nuclear power plant, Russia - Leak
1.5 million Curies
released.
January 5, 1976 - Bohunice nuclear
power plant (Slovakia) - Leak
Two workers killed by a
radioactive carbon dioxide leak.
April 16, 1976, Aboard the Cruiser USS
