Abstract
Despite the largely successful precautions taken to avoid nuclear reactor accidents, the record is not perfect. We list here the more important known reactor accidents, excluding accidents in submarine reactors and possible accidents in the former USSR and Soviet Bloc countries, other than the Chernobyl accident.
There are reports of reactor accidents in these countries prior to the much larger Chernobyl accident (see Refs. [1] and [2]), although accounts of their course and magnitude are in dispute. In addition, there was a major release of radioactive material in an accident in 1957 at the Kyshtym nuclear complex in the Urals. The accident was a non-nuclear explosion in tanks of reprocessed radioactive wastes, not a reactor accident. It led to the reported evacuation of 10,730 people and caused a collective effective dose of about 2500 person-Sv [3, p. 116].
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Zhores Medvedev, The Legacy of Chernobyl (New York: W.W. Norton, 1990).
Grigori Medvedev, The Truth About Chernobyl (New York: Basic Books, 1991).
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation, UNSCEAR 1993 Report (New York: United Nations, 1993).
H.W. Bertini, et al., Descriptions of Selected Accidents that Have Occurred at Nuclear Reactor Facilities, Report ORNL/NSIC-176 (Oak Ridge, TN: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1980).
F.J. Rahn, A.G. Adamantiades, J.E. Kenton, and C. Braun, A Guide to Nuclear Power Technology (New York: Wiley, 1984).
U.K. Atomic Energy Office, Accident at Windscale No. 1 Pile on 10th October, 1957 (London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1957).
M.J. Crick and G.S. Linsley, An Assessment of the Radiological Impact of the Windscale Reactor Fire, October 1957, Report NRPB-R135 (Chilton, UK: National Radiation Protection Board, 1982).
John G. Fuller, We Almost Lost Detroit (New York: Ballantine Books, 1975).
Earl M. Page, “The Fuel Melting Incident,” in Fermi-1, New Age for Nuclear Power, E. Pauline Alexanderson, ed. (La Grange Park, IL: American Nuclear Society, 1979): 225–254.
International Atomic Energy Agency, Report on the Preliminary Fact Finding Mission Following the Accident at the Nuclear Fuel Processing Facility in Tokaimura, Japan (Vienna: IAEA, 1999).
Report of the President’s Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island, John G. Kemeny, Chairman (New York: Pergamon Press, 1979).
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Three Mile Island, A Report to the Commissioners and to the Public, Report of Special Inquiry Group, Mitchell Rogovin, Director, Vol. II, Part 2 (Washington, DC: NRC, 1980).
David Okrent and Dale W. Moeller, “Implications for Reactor Safety of the Accident at Three Mile Island, Unit 2,” Annual Review of Energy 6, 1981: 43–88.
Pennsylvania Department of Health, “Health Department Discounts TMI as Connected to Infant Deaths,” News Release (May 19, 1980).
Marilyn K. Goldhaber, Sharon L. Staub, and George K. Tokuhata, “Spontaneous Abortions after the Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident: A Life Table Analysis,” American Journal of Public Health 73, no. 7, 1983: 752–759.
M. C. Hatch, S. Wallerstein, J. Beyea, J. W. Nieves, and M. Susser, “Cancer Rates after the Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident and Proximity of Residence to the Plant,” American Journal of Public Health 81, no. 6, 1991: 719–724.
The Accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant and Its Consequences, Information compiled for the IAEA Experts’ Meeting, 25–29 August 1986, Vienna, Draft (USSR State Committee on the Utilization of Atomic Energy, August 1986).
C. Hohenemser, M. Deicher, A. Ernst, H. Hofsäss, G. Lindner, and E. Recknagel, “Chernobyl: An Early Report,” Environment 28, no. 5, June 1986: 6–42.
U.S. Council for Energy Awareness, Nuclear Power Plants Outside the United States (Washington, DC: USCEA, 1991).
Yuri Kanin, “Chernobyl Fire Chronology,” Nature 353, 1991: 690.
“World List of Nuclear Power Plants,” Nuclear News 46, no. 3, March 2003: 41–67.
Gamini Seneviratne, “IAEA: Early Version of Review Up date Released,” Nuclear News 46, no. 6, May 2003: 53–55.
International Atomic Energy Agency, Nuclear Power Reactors in the World, Reference Data Series No. 2, April 2003 edition (Vienna: IAEA, 2002).
International Atomic Energy Agency, INSAG-7. The Chernobyl Accident: Updating of INSAG-1, A Report by the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (Vienna: IAEA, 1992).
A.A. Afanasieva, E.V. Burlakov, A.V. Krayushkin, and A.V. Kubarev, “The Characteristics of the RBMK Core,” Nuclear Technology 103, July 1993: 1–9.
Richard Wilson, “Comments on the Accident at Chernobyl and Its Implications Following a Visit to the USSR on February 13–24, 1987,” unpublished (1987).
M. Goldman, et al., Health and Environmental Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Accident, Report DOE/ER-0332 (Washington, DC: U.S. DOE, 1987).
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation, Volume II: Effects, UNSCEAR 2000 Report (New York: United Nations, 2000).
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation, Volume I: Sources, UNSCEAR 2000 Report (New York: United Nations, 2000).
International Atomic Energy Agency, One Decade after Chernobyl, Summing up the Consequences of the Accident, Proceedings of an International Conference (Vienna: IAEA, 1996).
G. Wagemaker, A.K. Guskova, V.G. Bebeshko, N.M. Griffiths, and N.A. Krishenko, “Clinically Observed Effects in Individuals Exposed to Radiation as the Result of the Chernobyl Accident,” in One Decade After Chernobyl, Summing up the Consequences of the Accident, Proceedings of an International Conference (Vienna: IAEA, 1996): 173–196.
United Nations Development Program, “The Human Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: A Strategy for Recovery,” Chernobyl Report-Final-240102, A Report Commissioned by UNDP and UNICEF with the support of UN-OCHA and WHO (January 25, 2002). [From: http://www.undp.org/dpa/publications/chernobyl.pdf]
E. Cardis, L. Anspaugh, V.K Ivanov, I.A. Likhtarev, K. Mabuchi, A.E. Okeanov, and A.E Prisyazhniuk, “Estimated Long Term Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident,” in One Decade After Chernobyl, Summing up the Consequences of the Accident, Proceedings of an International Conference (Vienna: IAEA, 1996): 241–271.
B. G. Bennett, “Assessment by UNSCEAR of Worldwide Doses from the Chernobyl Accident,” in One Decade After Chernobyl, Summing up the Consequences of the Accident, Proceedings of an International Conference (Vienna: IAEA, 1996): 117–126.
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, Sources, Effects and Risks of Ionizing Radiation, UNSCEAR 1988 Report (New York: United Nations, 1988).
Lynn R. Anspaugh, Robert J. Catlin, and Marvin Goldman, “The Global Impact of the Chernobyl Reactor Accident,” Science 242, 1988: 1513–1519.
International Atomic Energy Agency, The International Chernobyl Project, An Overview, Report by an International Advisory Committee (Vienna: IAEA, 1991).
James M. Goldgeier, “Will SARS Be the Chinese Chernobyl?” Los Angeles Times (April 23, 2003); as presented on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations. [From: http://www.cfr.org/publication.php?id=5881]
Martin Malia, The Soviet Tragedy: A History of Socialism in Russia, 1917–1991 (New York: The Free Press, 1994).
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2004 Springer-Verlag New York, LLC
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
(2004). Nuclear Reactor Accidents. In: Nuclear Energy. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-26931-2_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-26931-2_15
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-20778-0
Online ISBN: 978-0-387-26931-3
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)