List of ‘Accidents’ at Nuclear Power Plants Still Growing

The list of problems occurring at nuclear plants around the globe is increasing as the plants get older and deteriorate over time. Lack of essential maintenance on the part of the companies that run the plants is responsible for many, though not all, of the issues.

The Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Idaho Falls, Simi Valley, Idaho Falls (again), Charlestown, Monroe, Cordova, Athens, Covert Township, Brownville

The list goes on and on and on. You can see more here, and here.

Some were minor incidents, but others were far more serious, like the partial core meltdown that killed three workers at the Enrico Fermi plant in Michigan in 1966.

Or the Christmas day turbine failure at the same plant in 1993.

Or the hydrogen explosion that damaged three buildings in Waterford, Connecticut.

The United States has had 26 criticality incidents and six partial meltdowns: 1955 BORAX 1, 1959 Santa Suzanna, 1961 SL1, 1964 SNAP8ER, 1966 Fermi 1, 1979 Three Mile Island.

Worldwide, the number of explosions and partial meltdowns that hardly anyone has ever heard of is mind boggling.

The UK, Switzerland, Russia, Germany and more than a dozen other countries have also had serious incidents that have resulted in meltdowns or radiation releases.

As I type, the ongoing leak of nuclear waste at Hanford continues with the timescale for total decontamination running in to years.

There have been at least 56 accidents and incidents at US nuclear power plants alone up to 2010.

56!

How many of that 56 have you seen announced to the general public?

Exactly. Only the really big incidents such as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima are routinely mentioned. The rest get a middle of the night five second gloss over if anything at all.

It’s not just Fukushima we need to worry about, it’s all the others leaks and emissions that over time are poisoning the very air that we breathe.

Of course on top of this there have been literally dozens of military accidents involving nuclear material. For a very worrying taster click here.

Today workers at Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria, UK have been told to stay at home after elevated levels of radiation were detected last night.

A 2012 report by the National Audit Office said some facilities at the 68-year-old site had “deteriorated so much that their contents pose significant risks to people and the environment”.

Sellafield, the UK’s largest and most hazardous nuclear site, stores enough high and intermediate level radioactive waste to fill 27 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

In 1957, the UK’s worst nuclear disaster also occurred at the site when one of the nuclear reactors caught fire, releasing radioactive material that spread across the UK and Europe.

It’s estimated that 8,000 staff have been barred from the site. The Department of Energy is aware of the situation and is in touch with the site managers. They say that although radiation levels are above normal they are  “below the level of concern.”

How can they make such a stupid statement? NO LEVEL of man made radiation is safe. Radiation is proven to cause birth defects. It is teratogenetic which is why medical radiographers cover the genitals in men, and the abdomen in women when taking X-rays. Even having ONE X-RAY gets you a lead cover over your reproductive organs, and for the very good reason that it is a known and accepted scientific fact that radiation is harmful.