Nuclear accidents
In the nuclear energy we mean nuclear accident to those events that emit a certain level of radiation which could harm public health.
Nuclear accidents are classified as nuclear accidents and incidents by severity. In this classification nuclear accidents and radioactive accidents are included. To understand, a nuclear accident could be the failure of a reactor of a nuclear power plant and an radiation accident could be pouring a radiation source to a river.
Despite the known nuclear accidents have occurred at nuclear power plants, they can also happen in other centers where they are working with nuclear energy, such as hospitals or research laboratories.
To determine the severity of an accident the International Nuclear Event Scale (better known by its acronym in English INES) has been defined.
Because the secrecy of governments and the companies that own nuclear plants, in some cases, it is difficult to determine the severity or extent and impact of a particular nuclear accident can involve.
Civilian nuclear accidents
1952 and 1958 - Nuclear accident in the nuclear power plant Chalk River, Canada
The December 12, 1952 in Canada the first serious nuclear accident occurs in the nuclear reactor of Chalk River NRX.
The May 24, 1958, also in Canada and the same nuclear power plant Chalk River: in the NRU reactor a rod of uranium fuel caught fire and split in two while trying to remove from the reactor core.
1957 - Nuclear accident at Windscale Pile, United Kingdom
In October 1957, a nuclear accident occurs at the Windscale reactor number one, Cumberland (now Sellafield, Cumbria).This incident became the worst nuclear accident in history of the United Kingdom classified at Level 5 of the INES scale.
The fire at the nuclear reactor led to the release of radioactive material into the surrounding area. The radiation could have caused about 240 cases of cancer. No one was evacuated from the affected area, but there was concern about the possible contamination of the milk.
The air ducts of the reactor outlet were sealed and the fuel cartridges were removed. The second nuclear reactor at the site was also closed, although it was undamaged by fire.
1979 - Nuclear accident in the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, USA
In March 1979 the nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island had a serious nuclear accident after the first year of operation. Misinterpretation of data caused serious errors in certain decisions of plant personnel. Although the core of the nuclear reactor was badly damaged had limited radioactive products overseas escape. The accident was classified as Level 5 on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES).
1980 - Nuclear accident in the Saint Laurent des Eaux nuclear power plant, France
The worst nuclear accident in France occurred in the nuclear power plant Saint Laurent des Eaux next to the river Loire. It happened in March 1980. A fault in the cooling system caused the melting of a fuel channel in the Saint Laurent A2 reactor.
This nuclear accident was classified as Level 4 on the INES scale. No radioactive material was released outside the plant.
1986 - Nuclear Accident in the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukraine
In April 1986, there was the largest nuclear accident in the history of nuclear power Chernobyl by a series of human errors in the course of a previously planned test. It was classified as level 7 ("major nuclear accident") on the INES scale.
1987 - Nuclear accident in Goiânia, Brazil
In September 1987 the city of Goiânia in Brazil had a radioactive contamination accident. Two men robbed a teletherapy apparatus and manipulated it. They extracted a cesium capsule from his protective housing what made it a radioactive cesium-137 source. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) highlighted that nuclear accident as one of the worst radiological incidents worldwide.
The nuclear accident in Goiânia was considered Level 5 on the INES scale. Residences and public places are severely polluted. Four people were killed and 28 suffered radiation burns.Several buildings were demolished and farmland as part of decontamination operations were removed.
1999 - Nuclear accident in the Tokaimura uranium fuel treatment plant, Japan
In September 1999, there was the nuclear accident at the Tokaimura uranium fuel treatment plant, owned by the company JCO in Tokaimura. All signs pointed to it was due to human error. The accident was classified as level 4 according to INES scale ("accident without significant off-site risk"), since the amounts of radiation released to the outside were very small, and within the limits and within the site. The damage produced in the equipment and biological barriers was significant, addition to worker exposure fatal.
2011 - Nuclear accident in the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Japan
In Fukushima , on 11 March 2011 witnessed one of the worst nuclear accidents in history after the Chernobyl nuclear accident. An earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale near the northwest coast of Japan and a subsequent tsunami affected severely the Fukushima nuclear power plant Fukushima.
References
Last review: September 29, 2014