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Atomic U.S.A.
• Page Three •
Atomic Energy {equals} Nuclear Disasters
The nuclear power industry is responsible for nuclear accidents - many of them classified as secret then and now - at Santa Susana
in California, Idaho Falls in Idaho, Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, Church Rock & Los Alamos & W.I.P.P. in New Mexico,
Denver in Colorado {twice!}, and lots of others – not to mention Chernobyl in Russia (1991), and Fukushima in Japan (2011).
'nuclear accidents' entry at Wikipedia
Nuclear Information and Resource Service [est. 1978] is based in Maryland
 | "Atomic Accidents: A History of Nuclear Meltdowns and Disasters: From The Ozark Mountains To Fukushima" [2014] by James Mahaffey Kindle Edition from Pegasus Books [2/2014] for $12.74 Pegasus Books 8¼x5½ pb [2/2015] for $13.41 Pegasus Books 9¼x6½ hardcover [2/2014] for $22.19 |
jump to Three Mile Island + Chernobyl + Fukushima, 2011 + 2020
anti-nuclear activist Helen Caldicott, MD
official website •
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
video [9:54] of Dr. Caldicott's press conference after 2011 disaster in Fukushima, Japan
Sarah Alisabeth Fox - researcher on atomic downwinders in USA
author's official booksite
 | "Downwind: A People's History of The Nuclear West, Illustrated" [2014] by Sarah Alisabeth Fox an unflinching report of the American atomic West that reveals the intentional disregard for the inhabitants and the environment in nuclear testing by the federal government and in uranium extraction by mining corporations during and after the Cold War Kindle Edition from Bison Books [11/2014] for $11.99 Bison Books 9x6 pb [10/2018] for $15.83 Bison Books 9¼x6½ hardcover [11/2014] for $29.95 |
anti-nuclear activist Dr. Michio Kaku
"Michio Kaku: Nuclear Power Is A Faustian Bargain" on The Big Think website
watch podcast video [5/2011 upload; 2:46] online at YouTube
Kneeling on the floor with a Bunsen burner, Bragg and Meigs worked to free the clogged tube. Without warning, at 1:20 PM, there was a massive explosion. As the tube shattered, the liquid uranium hexafluoride, combined with the escaping steam, showered the two engineers with hydrofluoric acid. Within minutes, both Bragg and Meigs, with third degree burns all over their bodies, were dead and Kramish, also burned, was near death - but did survive for another 60+ years. Two soldiers were also severely burned but survived.
The battleship U.S.S. Wisconsin sat berthed not more than two hundred yards away. Just back from its 'shakedown' cruise, the sailors on board were never made aware that they had been exposed to a cloud of uranium hexafluoride, nor were the firemen and others who responded to the scene. Due to the extreme secrecy surrounding the Manhattan Project and specifically this experimental facility at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, General Leslie Groves immediately drew a veil over the incident. A press release was entitled only "Explosion at Navy Yard." Even the Philadelphia coroner was not made aware of the actual causes of death. It was not until many years later that the facts of the incident emerged.
fatal radiation accident at Philadelphia Navy Yard (1944)
On 2 September 1944, three men entered the transfer room of the secret liquid thermal diffusion semi-works at the Philadelphia Navy Yard to repair a clogged tube. The tube they were working on consisted of two concentric pipes with liquid uranium hexafluoride circulating in the space between them and the innermost pipe containing high-pressure steam, as part of a process that had only recently moved from the laboratory experimental stage to a pilot plant operation.
The three men were Peter N. Bragg Jr., a chemical engineer from Arkansas, was hired in June by the Navy Research Lab; Douglas P. Meigs was an employee of the H.K. Ferguson Company of Cleveland, Ohio, the prime contractor for the project; and Arnold Kramish [1923‑2010], a physicist on loan from Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
fatal radiation dose incidents at Los Alamos (1945 & 1946)
physicist Haroutune Krikor 'Harry' Daghlian, Jr. [1921-1945]
died of radiation poisoning from a lab accident in Los Alamos
entry at Wikipedia •
AD's Daghlian memorial page
physicist Louis Alexander Slotin [1910-1946]
died of radiation poisoning from a lab accident in Los Alamos
entry at Wikipedia •
MPHPA's Slotin memorial page
 | "The Accident: A Novel" [1955] by Dexter Masters In April 1946, Canadian physicist Louis A. Slotin was working in a laboratory at Los Alamos and accidentally triggered a burst of hard radiation; he died nine days later. Masters's novel describes the events around fictional Louis Saxl and a similar event. Penguin Books 7½x5 pb [8/85] out of print/used Faber & Faber 7¾x5 pb [1987] out of print/used Alfred A. Knopf 8x5¾ hardcover [1955] out of print/used |
radioactive Lake Karachay (U.S.S.R./Russia 1951-2015)
The large nuclear processing facility at Mayak was begun in 1949; nearby Lake Karachay was too small to provide water for cooling, so a pipeline was built southward for about 2 miles
from Lake Kyzyltash, and smaller Lake Karachay was used for dumping contaminated water and other waste. The dumping continued even after the 1957 Mayak/Kyshtym nuclear accident.
A drought in the 1960s dried up the lakebed, and windborn dust spread radiation sickness to many nearby towns and villages. Starting around 1978, the Russian government filled in
the lake with 10,000 concrete blocks, covered the area with dirt, and then covered it all over with concrete; that project was completed in 2015, but the lake is still the most-polluted
(open-air) place on Earth from a radiological point of view.
Lake Karachay entry at Wikipedia
Kyshtym nuclear accident (U.S.S.R. 1957)
A poorly-maintained storage tank at the Mayak nuclear facility in the Urals Mountains exploded, releasing 50-100 tons of high-level radioactive waste and producing a radioactive cloud that contaminated a territory of more than 750 square kilometers (290 square miles), causing sickness and death from radiation poisoning. The Soviet regime kept the accident secret for about thirty years. Since the closed city of Ozyorsk/Mayak was not marked on maps, the event was named for the nearest known town, Kyshtym.
The event is currently designated the third-worst nuclear incident in history, after #1 Chernobyl and #2 Fukushima.
Kyshtym nuclear disaster entry at Wikipedia
Windscale Piles fire (U.K. 1957)
A lesser-known British facility built in 1950 that burned out of control for three days in 1957; fearing contamination from release of Cesium 137
and Iodine 131, authorities destroyed local milk production for a month; Pile 1 was unserviceable and Pile 2 was shut down as a precaution.
The clean-up process was not begun until the 1990s and is expected to be completed in 2037.
Windscale Piles fire entry at Wikipedia
plutonium fires at Rocky Flats facility in Colorado (1957 & 1969)
The Rocky Flats nuclear weapons production facility near Denver, Colorado operated from 1952 to 1992. A then-highly-classified
plutonium fire on 11 September 1957 contaminated portions of the Denver metropolitan area with radioactive Pu-239;
another major plutonium fire 11 May 1969 produced similar effects but was monitored and reported by civilian agencies, which
led to the U.S. government's divulgence of the 1957 fire. Weapons production ended at Rocky Flats after a joint F.B.I.-E.P.A.
raid of the facility on 6 June 1989; operators of the plant later pled guilty to criminal violations of environmental law.
The Rocky Flats site is now on the National Register of Historic Places, and also a Superfund pollution/cleanup site.
Rocky Flats facility entry at Wikipedia
 | "Making A Real Killing: Rocky Flats and The Nuclear West" [1999] by Len Ackland UNM Press 9x6 pb [2/2002] for $26.56 UNM Press hardcover [9/99] for $39.95 |
 | "Full Body Burden: Growing Up In The Nuclear Shadow of Rocky Flats" [2012] by Kristen Iversen
Kindle Edition from Random House Digital [6/2012] for $12.99 Harvill Secker 9¼x6 pb [undated] import/scarce Crown 9½x6½ hardcover [6/2012] for $15.99 out of print/used |
National Reactor Testing Station meltdown in Idaho Falls, Idaho (January 1961)
incident entry at Wikipedia
 | "Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident" [2003] by William McKeown E.C.W. Press 8x5½ pb [4/2003] for $11.53 |
 | "Atomic America: How A Deadly Explosion and A Feared Admiral Changed The Course of Nuclear History" [2009] by Todd Tucker Bison Books 9x6 pb [11/2010] for $18.95 Free Press 9x6¼ hardcover [3/2009] out of print/used |
Browns Ferry, Alabama - fire in Unit 1 [March 1975]
three General Electric boiling water reactor (BWR) nuclear generating units; owned entirely by the Tennessee Valley Authority (T.V.A.)
Incident happened four years before Three Mile Island {just below}, and was potentially far more dangerous; caused by a number of construction flaws, operational issues, and safety failures, the incident began when a candle flame accidentally began a fire that went out of control, leading to a near melt down in what was then the largest nuclear power plant in the U.S.A. The situation at Brown's is considered the basis of the "China Syndrome" movie of 1979. Unit 1 operated from 1973 to 1985 and restarted in May 2007; the license expires in 2033.
Browns Ferry fire entry at Wikipedia
 | "Incident At Browns Ferry" docufilm [Richter Prodns 1977]
57-minute educational film; DVD released on license for schools, libraries & community groups, currently unavailable; shown on the "Nova" TV series [S4 E6 Feb 1977] { IMDb credits } and also released as a feature film { IMDb credits } • Written & directed by Robert Richter; narrated by Richard Kiley, featuring Ralph E. Lapp & Norman Rassmussen filmmaker's official movie page |
Three Mile Island Nuclear Generator meltdown [March 1979]
incident entry at Wikipedia
 | "Voices From Three Mile Island: The People Speak Out" [1980] by Robert Leppzer interviews of the residents about the changes that they saw in the year after the incident: wild birds, rabbits, racoons, foxes, etc. disappeared from their farms and roads; cattle, goats, ducks, and barn cats that were not removed from the area suffered grossly-deformed deliveries, and in March the trees' new leaves turned red and fell off . . . Crossing Press hardcover [1980] out of print/scarce |
 | "The Warning: Accident At Three Mile Island - A Nuclear Omen For The Age of Terror" [1982 & 2003] by Mike Gray & Ira Rosen This factual, riveting thriller was the first account of the T.M.I. accident and is based on exclusive interviews with key operating personnel; authors updated the narrative of mechanical failure and human error with an analysis of the current threats to our nuclear power plants in 2003 W.W. Norton & Co. mass pb [updated 4/2003] out of print/used W.W. Norton & Co. 8¼x5½ pb [updated 4/2003] for $18.49 W.W. Norton & Co. hardcover [7/82] out of print/used |
 | "Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis In Historical Perspective" [2004] by J. Samuel Walker Univ California Press 9x6 pb [1/2006] for $24.43 Univ California Press 9x6 hardcover [3/2004] for $45.55 |
Church Rock Tailings Spill [July 1979]
incident entry at Wikipedia
The largest radioactive accident in U.S. history took place in Sawmill, Arizona on 16 July 1979 when a dam containing a uranium waste disposal pond ruptured sending more than 1,000 tons of radioactive waste and nearly 95 million gallons of radioactive wastewater into the nearby Rio Puerco; radiation from the spill was detected as far as 80 miles downstream. The Church Rock Tailings Spill is the third-largest radioactive waste leak ever after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan and the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown in modern-day Ukraine.
nuclear generator meltdown at Chernobyl in Soviet Russia / Ukraine [April 1986]
final shutdown was in December 2000 •
incident entry at Wikipedia
2020 April: Ukrainian firefighters battled two wildfires near the abandoned Chernobyl nuclear power station; the blazes covered dozens of acres in the 1,000-square-mile
Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, which was evacuated after a 1986 nuclear-reactor explosion; airborne radiation levels in the area rose to 16 times above normal.
2022 Friday April 1: Russian troops left the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant and returned control to Ukrainians; the move came after Russian soldiers got 'significant' radiation doses while digging trenches around the restricted site, per Ukraine state power company Energoatom, which operates the containment site; no details were provided on how many Russians were exposed to contamination near the plant, which has been closed since suffering the world's worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
 | "Chernobyl: The End of the Nuclear Dream" by a team of London Observer reporters [1986] reporters include Nigel Hawkes, Geoffrey Lean, David Leigh, Robin McKie, Peter Pringle, Andrew Wilson Vintage pb [12/1986] out of print/used |
 | "Chernobyl: The Final Warning" memoir [1988] by Dr. Robert P. Gale & Thomas Hauser U.C.L.A. physician Gale led the international medical team that treated victims of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear meltdown • book was adapted into a well-known & popular movie starring Jon Voight & Jason Robards {see below} Kindle Edition from Encore Press [updated 9/2020] for $9.99 Encore Press 9x6 pb [updated 9/2020] for $16.95 Warner Books hardcover [5/88] out of print/used Grand Central Publng hardcover [4/88] out of print/40+ used |
 | "The Social Impact of The Chernobyl Disaster" [1988] by David R. Marples, Foreword by Victor G. Snell 'A personal interpretation of the impact of the Chernobyl disaster both in the Soviet Union and in the West' Palgrave Macmillan 8½x5½ pb [9/88] - overpriced St. Martin's Press hardcover [9/88] out of print/used |
 | "Chernobyl A Documentary Story" [1989] by Iurii Shcherbak, Translated by Ian Press Palgrave Macmillan 8½x5½ pb [3/89] for $59.99 Palgrave Macmillan/Springer hardcover [6/89] out of print/used |
 | "The Legacy of Chernobyl" [1990] by Zhores A. Medvedev [1925-2018]
W.W. Norton & Co. 8¼x5½ pb [5/90] for $22.99 W.W. Norton & Co. 9¼x6 hardcover [5/90] out of print/used |
 | "The Truth About Chernobyl" [1991] by Grigori Medvedev, Foreword by (physicist) Andrei Sakharov "An exciting minute-by-minute account by a leading Soviet nuclear physicist/engineer of the world's largest nuclear disaster and [its] cover-up"; book was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Science and Technology in 1991. Basic Books 8x5¼ pb [7/92] out of print/used Basic Books 9½x6¼ hardcover [4/91] out of print/many used |
 | "Ablaze: The Story of The Heroes and Victims of Chernobyl" [1993] by Piers Paul Read Mandarin pb [1994] out of print/used Random House/Shadow Books 11x8½ hardcover [4/1993] for $32.40 |
 | "No Breathing Room: The Aftermath of Chernobyl" [1993] by Grigori Medvedev, Translated by Evelyn Rossiter, Introduction by David Marples "A stinging indictment of the secrecy, corruption, and incompetence that led to the Chernobyl meltdown" Basic Books 8x5¼ pb [4/94] out of print/used Basic Books 8¾x5¾ hardcover [5/93] out of print/used |
 | "Chernobyl: The Forbidden Truth" [1995] by journalist Alla Yaroshinskaya, Translated by Michele Kahn & Julia Sallabank, Introduction by David R. Marples, Foreword by John Gofman author won the Right Livelihood Award in 1992 for her writings on this topic Bison Books 9x6 pb [8/95] out of print/used Univ Nebraska Press 9¼x6 hardcover [8/95] out of print/used |
 | "Voices From Chernobyl: The Oral History of A Nuclear Disaster" [1997] by Nobel-laureate Svetlana Alexievich, English Translation by Keith Gessen Kindle Edition from Dalkey Archive Press [10/2015] for $9.49 Dalkey Archive Press 8¾x6 pb [7/2019] for $17.96 Picador 8½x5½ pb [4/2006] out of print/50+ used Aurum Press UK 8¾x6 hardcover [9/1999] out of print/used Russian-language original not found on Amazon Spanish-language Kindle Edition from Debols!llo/Penguin Random House [1/2015] for $7.99 Debols!llo Spanish-language mass pb [1/2015] for $17.94 Debate Spanish-language 9¼x6¼ hardcover [1/2015] for $28.52 Italian-language Kindle Edition from Edizioni E/O [10/2012] for $9.99 Edizioni E/O Italian-language pb [1/2015] for $22.99 Edizioni E/O Italian-language 8x5½ hardcover [5/2018] for $17.91 |
 | "Wormwood Forest: A Natural History of Chernobyl" [2005] by Mary Mycio intrepid journalist Mycio wore a dosimeter and camouflage protective gear to explore the world's most infamous radioactive wilderness, interviewing many of the radioactive farmers who chose to stay and are managing to thrive Kindle Edition from Joseph Henry Press [8/2005] for $17.99 Joseph Henry Press 9x6 pb [8/2005] for $27.95 Joseph Henry Press 9½x5½ hardcover [8/2005] for $36.79 |
 | "The Long Shadow of Chernobyl (English, German, and French Edition)" [2014] by Gerd Ludwig twenty-year project by photographer Ludwig; text in German, French & English Edition Lammerhuber 13x12 hardcover [6/2014] for $74.38 |
 | "Midnight In Chernobyl: The Untold Story of The World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster" [2019] New York Times bestseller by Adam Higginbotham Kindle Edition from Simon & Schuster Digital Sales [2/2019] for $14.99 Simon & Schuster 9x6 hardcover [2/2019] for $18.09 |
 | "From Chernobyl With Love: Reporting From The Ruins of The Soviet Union, Illustrated" [2019] by Katya Cengel A Californian just out of college took a job at The Baltic Times just seven years after Latvia regained its independence; she made several trips to Chernobyl, where she met her fiancé, but as they fell in love, the Ukraine collapsed into what would become the Orange Revolution, bringing it to the brink of political disintegration and civil war Kindle Edition from Potomac Books [11/2019] for $21.62 Potomac Books 11½x7½ hardcover [11/2019] for $22.76 |
 | "Why Putin Wants Chernobyl: The Complete, Unbelievable Story of Russia's  Nuclear Fallout" [2022] by Gen. Tyler Richardson author's personal claims are not sourced; self-published book is extremely speculative and difficult to believe . . . 55-page self-publd Kindle Edition [3/2022] for $3.99 82-page self-publd 9x6 pb [3/2022] for $11.99 |
 | "Chernobyl: The Final Warning" TV movie [Carolco TV/T.N.T. April 1991] True story about the tragic nuclear power plant accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine and how one American specialist, Dr. Robert Gale, helped the soviet doctors treat the survivors; filmed in Los Angeles and Russia • Directed by Anthony Page; teleplay by Ernest Kinoy, based on the book by Robert Gale & Thomas Hauser; starring Jon Voight {as Dr. Robert Gale}, Jason Robards {as Armand Hammer}, Sammi Davis, Annette Crosbie, Ian McDiarmid, Vincent Riotta, Steven Hartley, Jim/James Ishida, Alex Norton, Debora Weston, Trevor Cooper, Sebastian Shaw, Anne Dyson, Chris Walker, Lorcan Cranitch, Keith Edwards, Sam Graham, Karen Meagher, Jack Klaff, Jonathan Hachett, Caroline Milmoe, Mary Grady, Yuriy Petrov, Oleg Novikov, Igor Livanov, Aleksei Krasnopolsky, Dmitri Matveyev, Vladimir Troshin {as Mikhail Gorbachev}, Andrei Smeli, Dmitriy Orlov, Vadim Ledogorov, Aleksei Yelizavetsky, Yelena Pokatilova, Natalya Kovalyova, Karina Dymont, Kenneth Locker, Nicholas Locker, Shir Gale, Gennadiy Yukhtin, Artur Popov, Anatoliy Nemov, Gleb Plashksin, Yuliya Zhiveynova full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia DVD/Blu-ray not available • Warner Home Video color VHS [7/91] for $14.94 |
 | "Meltdown In Chernobyl" [National Geographic/Darlow Smithson Aug 2004] Season 1, Episode 7 of "Seconds From Disaster" TV series [2004-2012] The explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 killed 56 people, threatened the health of thousands more, and caused a major environmental disaster • Produced by Greg Lanning; directed by Maninderpal Sahota; narrated by Richard Vaughn; featuring water pump operator Boris Stolyarchuk, Turbine Operator Yuri Korneev, Petr Tolstiakov, Oksana Savchenko, Nuclear Engineer Cliff Robinson, Nuclear Physicist Jim Al-Khalili, Engineer Viniamin Prianichnikov, Soviet Army General Nikolai Tarakanov, Aleksandr Agulov, Petr Khmel, with archive footage of Mikhail Gorbachev full credits at IMDb • series entry at Wikipedia • DVD/Blu-ray not available watch full episode [12/2021 upload; 46:01] online at YouTube |
 | "Chernobyl Diaries" [Alcon/Warner Bros. May 2012] Six American tourists sign up for an 'extreme tour' of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and get way more than they bargained for . . . • Filmed in Serbia & Hungary; co-produced & co-written by Oren Peli; directed by Bradley Parker; co-written by Carey Van Dyke & Shane Van Dyke; starring Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Dimitri Diatchenko, Olivia Taylor Dudley, Devin Kelley, Jesse McCartney, Nathan Phillips, Jonathan Sadowski, Milos Timotijevic, Milutin Milosevic, Ivan Djordjevic, Ivan Jovic, Zinaida Dedakin, Ivana Milutinovic, Alex Feldman, Kristof Konrad, Pasha D. Lychnikoff, Jay Krash, Colin Conners, Zachary Haycock, Aris Platon Mpougàs Warner Bros. widescreen color Blu-ray [10/2012] for $5.40 Warner Bros. widescreen color DVD [10/2012] for $5.99 full credits at IMDb • official movie website • movie entry at Wikipedia watch 3/2012 official trailer [2:33] online at YouTube |
 | "The Babushkas of Chernobyl" [festival circuit 2015] After the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and evacuation, a group of women returned to the Exclusion Zone surrounding the nuclear power plant and have resided there - semi-officially - in isolation for thirty years Co-produced & co-directed by Anne Bogart; co-produced, written & co-directed by Holly Morris; featuring Valentyna Ivanivna, Hanna Zavorotnya, Maria Shovkuta DVD/Blu-ray not available • Amazon Instant Video [2017] HD rental $3.99, HD purchase $9.99 also available in USA on Xbox, iTunes, Google Play, Hoopla, Vudu bare credits at IMDb • official movie website watch 5/2015 official trailer with subtitles [2:08] online at Vimeo |
 | "Czarnobyl Na Weasne Oczy" docufilm [TVN-TV Poland Nov 2015] shows the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone at 30 years after the nuclear power plant failure, concentrating on the displaced residents of Pripyat and their memories of working in a dynamic power plant and living in a vibrant city, contrasted with present images of the wild and mysterious Exclusion Zone Produced, written & directed by Armin Kurasz; featuring Jacek Podemski VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb • official movie webpage at TVN Turbo |
 | "Chernobyl: 30 Years On - Mankind's Nuclear Heritage" [NHK-TV Japan April 2016] Thirty years after history's worst nuclear accident in Chernobyl, steps are still being taken to contain the radiation and stop leaks, but the Ukraine government needs to find innovative new solutions to protect people's health • Directed by Daniel Baar & Matthias Hambsch; featuring Sergey Kondratenko, Vladimir Usatenko, Marlies Philipp, Victor Zalizetskyi, Dirk Laske, Aleksandr Syrota, Prof. Dr. Anatoliy Chumak, Leonid Denishchuk, Monika Hotopp, Igor Petrenko, with archive footage of Dwight D. Eisenhower DVD/Blu-ray not available • Amazon Instant Video [2016] HD rental $1.99, HD purchase $4.99 full credits at IMDb • Japanese-language official movie webpage |
 | "Embittered City: A Modern Human Tragedy" [ZDF-TV Germany 2017] An investigative journey into Chernobyl, a city that is completely cut off from the outside world and that harbors residents who don't even know that radioactivity has already established a deadly disease in their organs: cancer – a modern human tragedy that is virtually beyond comprehension Directed by Alexander & Tatyana Detig DVD/Blu-ray not available • Amazon Instant Video [2017] HD rental $1.99, HD purchase $4.99 not listed at IMDb • official movie website watch official trailer [1/2019 upload; 1:24] online at YouTube watch full movie [11/2017 upload; 51:38] online at YouTube |
award-winning "Chernobyl: Based On The Untold True Story" 5-part cable mini-series
[Home Box Office May-June 2019]
    | Detailed report on the incident, the attempted recovery, the cover-up, and the dangerous exposé; “a gruesome, riveting fable”; "CHERNOBYL turns one of mankind's darkest disasters into one of television's brightest achievements"; partial remake of the 1991 TV movie; the five episodes are: 1) "1:23:45"; 2) "Please Remain Calm"; 3) "Open Wide, O Earth"; 4) "The Happiness of All Mankind"; and 5) "Vichnaya Pamyat (Eternal Memory)" • Co-produced & directed by Johan Renck; co-produced & written by Craig Mazin; starring Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Jessie Buckley, Emily Watson, Paul Ritter, Adam Nagaitis, Sam Troughton, Robert Emms, Con O'Neill, Adrian Rawlins, Alan Williams, Karl Davies, Michael Socha, Laura Elphinstone, Jan Ricica, David Dencik {as Michail Gorbatchev}, Ralph Ineson, Mark Lewis Jones, Rosie Sheehy; highest cable show viewer ratings of all time on IMDb (9.7 out of 10); series won 10 Primetime Emmy Awards & 9 other noms, won 3 BAFTA Awards, won AFI TV Program of the Year Award, DGA Award, 14 OFTA TV Awards, Peabody Award in 2020, 2 Satellite Awards, WGA Award; music won Grammy Award, SCL Award
H.B.O. color Blu-ray [10/2019] 2 disks for $18.67 Warner Bros. color DVD+digital HD [10/2019] 2 disks for $19.96 H.B.O. color 4k HD format DVD [10/2020] 4 disks for $26.80 full credits at IMDb • official movie site • series entry at Wikipedia watch 3/2019 official trailer [2:38] at YouTube soundtrack album composed by Hildur Guðnadóttir [2019] - music won Grammy Award, SCL Award Deutsche Grammophon soundtrack CD [5/2019] 13 tracks for $9.49 |
"The Chernobyl Podcast" [H.B.O. May-June]
 | N.P.R. radio host Peter Sagal interviews show creator Craig Mazin about the 5-part H.B.O. mini-series "Chernobyl" listen to 5/2019 Episode 1 audio recording [51:26] online at YouTube listen to 5/2019 Episode 2 audio recording [47:34] online at YouTube listen to 5/2019 Episode 3 audio recording [45:59] online at YouTube listen to 5/2019 Episode 4 audio recording [43:57] online at YouTube listen to 6/2019 Episode 5 audio recording [47:20] online at YouTube empty credits at IMDb |
"How Chernobyl Splits Atomic Facts From Fiction" [IMDbrief podcast 6 June 2019]|
watch short podcast [3:37] online at YouTube
"Why Chernobyl Exploded: The Real Physics Behind The Reactor" [podcast 8 June 2019]
hosted by vlogger Scott Manley (with a real Scots accent)
watch full podcast [21:36] online at YouTube
Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station weather incident in Oak Harbor, Ohio (June 1998)
an F2 tornado struck the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Ohio, resulting in the loss of off-site power
incident history list at Wikipedia
"Atomic Twister" TV movie [T.B.S. June 2002]
 | The staff of a nuclear reactor struggle to avert disaster when tornadoes cause damage that threatens to start a melt-down; the movie bears very little resemblance to the actual event • Directed by Bill Corcoran; co-produced & written by Ron McGee; starring Sharon Lawrence, Corbin Bernsen, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Carl Lewis, Jonathan Blick, Daniel Costello, Charmaine Guest, George Henare, John Leigh, John Sumner, David Aston, Paul Barrett, Grant Bridger, Katrina Devine, Peter Feeney, Taylor Garton, James Gaylyn, Michele Hine, Meryl Main, Joanna Morrison, Ashleigh Seagar, Jared Michael Thomas, Louise Wallace, Sara Wiseman, Roz Turnbull
Region 1 Blu-ray/DVD not available • full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia watch official trailer [10/2017 upload; 0:30] online at YouTube watch full movie [2/2014 upload; 1:25:58] online at YouTube |
Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station shutdown incident in Oak Harbor, Ohio (March 2002)
The fifth-worst U.S. nuclear incident occurred at Davis-Besse on 5 March 2002 when employees discovered that corrosion had eaten nearly
thru the top of the containment vessel; repairs took two years, and operator FirstEnergy paid $28M in fines. Several
employees were indicted and convicted in 2009; sentences included fines and probation.
incident history list at Wikipedia
nuclear disaster at Fukushima I & II Nuclear Generators at Okama, Japan (March 2011)
An earthquake and tsunami on 21 March 2011 flooded two Japanese nuclear power plants (built in 1971) causing two large explosions and on-going leakage
of radiation into the sea and into the air; that location is still a mess as-of early 2018. For the March 2022 Fukushima earthquake (without tsunami) see below.
Fukushima disaster entry at Wikipedia
post-Fukushima disaster interview of Michio Kaku [April 2011]
episode of "Democracy Now!" TV Series broadcast 13 April 2011
watch news segment [1/2015 upload; 13:32] online at YouTube
episode credits at IMDb
video [9:54] of Dr. Caldicott's press conference after 2011 disaster in Fukushima, Japan
 | "Fukushima: The Story of A Nuclear Disaster" [2014] by David Lochbaum, Edwin Lyman, Susan Q. Stranahan, and The Union of Concerned Scientists Kindle Edition from The New Press [2/2014] for $12.99 The New Press 9¼x6¼ hardcover [2/2014] for $20.93 |
 | "On The Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi" [2014] by Ryusho Kadota, with technical advisor Akira Tokuhiro; Translated by Simon Varnam Kindle Edition from Intercom, Ltd. [12/2014] for $7.99 Kurodahan Press 8x5 pb [10/2014] for $22.50 |
 | "Crisis Without End: The Medical and Ecological Consequences of The Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe" [2014] Edited by Helen Caldicott Kindle Edition from The New Press [10/2014] for $14.55 The New Press 8½x6 hardcover [10/2014] for $19.79 |
In March 2018, the N.O.A.A. released a graphic based on satellite readings that shows radiation contamination of the entire Pacific Ocean.
(NOTE: These results are what has happened in just seven years since the Fukushima incident.)
radiation leakage at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in SE New Mexico (February 2014 to January 2017)
| The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant {W.I.P.P.} is a deep geological repository for nuclear waste that was licensed/certified in 1999 to permanently dispose of transuranic radioactive waste for 10,000 years; however, it managed its first nuclear radiation accident in only 15 years. After a poorly-maintained truck caught fire deep inside the underground storage facility on February 14th, all production at the facility was halted. Escalated monitoring above ground discovered small amounts of americum and plutonium a half mile away. By March 10th, testing of workers found 17 people that had 'minor radiation contamination'. Hazmat-suited inspectors found that bags of substandard protectant had ripped open and corroded the metal drums containing radioactive waste. A recovery plan was devised and selected workers began careful recovery work in May 2015. In October 2016, W.I.P.P. announced that part of the ceiling in Panel 4 had collapsed and that the area is now designated 'prohibited' (up from 'restricted'). Operation of the facility resumed in January 2017, and the first new shipment arrived in April.
W.I.P.P. official website • W.I.P.P. entry at Wikipedia UPDATE March 2022: There's a big backup at W.I.P.P. that is going to cause an even bigger backup soon; repairs to the ventilation systems that were supposed to be completed in 2023 are now three years behind schedule; as of last year, costs for the project, undertaken due to a 2014 radiation leak, are at $486 million, almost 70 percent over the original estimate. The DOE is not required to come up with a plan and WIPP says it's having a hard time finding construction help. |
plutonium and cesium incident in San Antonio, Texas (March 2017)
Two employees from the Department of Energy in Idaho picked up some plutonium and radioactive cesium in San Antonio, Texas for transport and left it in luggage in the back seat
of their rental car at a hotel in San Antonio; someone smashed the car window and stole it, along with monitering equipment. Federal and local police have no clues (2018).
vague airborne radiation leakage incident in Europe (September 2017)
Various European weather stations downwind from Russia reported elevated levels of Ru-106 (ruthenium); Ru-106 is a byproduct of nuclear reactors and some medical treatments.
Russia's weather service reported that a monitoring station near the Mayak nuclear facility had detected extremely high pollution levels, roughly 1,000 times the normal
reading of Ru-106. Russia's official nuclear corporation quickly denied that the radioactive cloud was connected in any way with operations at Mayak.
The primary suspect for the source remains the Mayak nuclear facility.
incident entry at Wikipedia
leaking storage on Runit Island (February 2018)
Radioactive debris from nuclear tests conducted by the United States in the Enewetak Atoll between 1946 and 1958 was scraped away by Army personnel & transported
to an atomic crater on Runit Island; the estimated 73,000 m³ (95,000 cubic yards) of radioactive material, which includes some plutonium-239, was 'encapsulated'
with an 18-inch thick concrete dome. That dome is now found to be corroding due to age and also due to rising seawater levels.
Runit Island entry at Wikipedia
The saltwater was produced from two deep wells drilled west of Rio Rancho for the old Rio West housing development. These wells were drilled in 2007, directed by Sandoval County as part of a desalinization project to produce clean drinking water for the proposed development; the wells produced large amounts of saltwater pushed to the surface by high pressure. This highly contaminated water was then stored in large pits (also called evaporation ponds) dug into the ground near the wells. Evaporation of the water left behind solid material, which included the dangerous chemicals mixed in with salt. The operator (now a private company that had taken over operations from Sandoval County) planned to produce more contaminated saltwater from the two wells, but needed space to store it. So it decided to clean out the pits and dispose of the contaminated material. The operator applied for a permit from the state that would have allowed them to discharge the briny water (and associated contaminated material) legally - the permit was ultimately denied. In anticipation of receiving approval, the operator/administrator of the wellsite trucked all the material to the landfill over a two-week period in March 2018 - it was inexpensive, easy, and quick to do. But the operator did not inform the Waste Management Landfill people that the 288 tons contained radioactive material. The disposal appears to violate the landfill’s state-issued permit and may also violate state law.
radioactive material dumped at the Rio Rancho, New Mexico landfill (March 2018)
Approximately 288 tons (43 truck loads) of radioactive material has been dumped into the Rio Rancho Waste Management Landfill (located at Northern Blvd and 33rd Street in Rio Rancho). This material includes Radium 226 and 228, and is part of a mixture of salt & soil that also includes high levels of arsenic, sulfate, and chlorides. The material was derived from contaminated 'produced' salt water that contained total radium levels reported to be seventeen times higher than both federal and state maximum allowable limits. There are numerous schools, businesses, and homes within a one-mile radius of the landfill, and the contamination can be especially dangerous for workers and people who dump their trash at the landfill.
Regardless, the action has resulted in significant potential danger.
ruptured radiation sludge barrel incident in Idaho (April 2018)
According to AP news reports in April 2018, a single barrel of 'radioactive sludge' ruptured while being prepared for transport to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
in Southeast New Mexico for permanent storage. The 55-gallon barrel that ruptured is part of the badly-documented radioactive waste from the Rocky Flats Plant
near Denver, Colorado; it is unknown how many such barrels are stored at Idaho National Laboratory or what each one contains.
Woolsey Fire / Santa Susana Field Laboratory contamination in California (November 2018)
The Woolsey Fire burned north of Los Angeles, California for two weeks, remobilizing radioactive particles at the former Santa Susana Field Laboratory, a shuttered nuclear research facility contaminated by chemical & radiochemical releases. Wildfires in radiologically contaminated zones are a global concern; contaminated areas around Chernobyl, Fukushima, Los Alamos, and the Nevada Nuclear Test Site have all also experienced wildfires.
A small nuclear reactor apparently malfunctioned during testing of a new type of missile on an offshore platform near a naval weapons test site; attending scientists were blasted into the sea and the accident released radiation. At some point Russian authorities announced an evacuation order for nearby Severodvinsk. A researcher with the Norwegian environmental group Bellona said that it appeared that the Russian military would have to recover the damaged reactor from the bottom of the sea (maximum depth 1,100 feet).
missile engine nuclear reactor explosion in Northern Russia (August 2019)
Russia's Russian state news agency Tass and state nuclear agency Rosatom said that five staff members were killed on Thursday August 8th in Nyonoksa on the coast of the White Sea in northern Russia. Three other staff members reportedly suffered injuries during the testing of isotope power sources on a liquid propulsion system. U.S.-based nuclear experts are reportedly skeptical about the official explanation of the accident and instead suspect that the explosion and radiation release resulted from the testing of a nuclear-powered cruise missile. By Tuesday, the death count had grown to seven and 'the disaster remained shrouded in mystery': no kidding - the Russian government is stonewalling, of course.
nuclear workers hospitalized at Columbia, South Carolina plant (October 2019)
According to local news reports on October 22, three workers at a Westinghouse nuclear fuel factory in Columbia, South Carolina went to the hospital; the facility has a history
of leaks, spills and other mishaps, and an inspection found that the plant did not have proper safety equipment: the nuclear plant had a device in place that was not adequate
to prevent uranium from leaking into chemical supply drums at the site. That’s potentially significant because the drums were in a 'non-favorable' position, which under certain
circumstances could increase the chances of a radiation burst inside the 1,000-employee plant. Westinghouse reported the incident to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on
October 16, and shut down the part of the plant where the improper equipment was found.
plutonium-238 leak at Los Alamos (June 2020)
15 workers at Los Alamos National Laboratories in New Mexico were exposed to plutonium-238 oxide powder when a 'glove box' failed. This type of plutonium is produced
at Oak Ridge in Tennessee, shipped to L.A.N.L. for conversion to pellet form, then shipped to Idaho National Labs for storage until needed as the heat source for power
generators for space missions. Triad National Security, operator of L.A.N.L. since November 2018, said that there was 'no risk to public health and safety'; Triad's investigation
of the June 8 incident was revealed in a statement released on July 7th.
workers infected with COVID-19 at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in SE New Mexico (October 2020)
As the Wuhan 2019-nCoV coronavirus pandemic surges around the world and multiple countries tighten lockdown rules, statistics in New Mexico show statewide numbers
also are increasing. The local newspaper reports that the W.I.P.P. nuclear waste facility has at least 80 employees and contractor employees that have tested positive,
with 40 official recoveries (as-of November First). Two weeks later, the total COVID-19 infections at WIPP stands at 104: Seventeen new cases at contractor
Nuclear Waste Partnership and three more new cases at the Carlsbad Field Office. Another several weeks has 25 new infections for a total of 223, with 184 recovered.
W.I.P.P. official website •
W.I.P.P. entry at Wikipedia
Nuclear Power Plants in Ukraine (March 2022)
ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin entered its second week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's attack on the plant, the largest in Europe
in terms of power-generating capacity, amounted to 'nuclear terror'. The White House called on the Kremlin to halt military activities around the plant.
Putin said in a meeting with his security council that the invasion was going "according to plan".
on Ukrainian saboteurs and have since seized control of the facility; the fire was extinguished Friday morning after it burned for about four hours, the Ukrainian State
Emergency Service said. No casualties have been reported. Western leaders condemned Russia’s attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant early Friday morning.
"By the grace of God, the world narrowly averted a nuclear catastrophe last night", said U.S. envoy to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
that the cooling systems, which had been relying on limited generator power for days, were back to normal operation. Russia took control of Chernobyl shortly after
its Ukraine invasion started three weeks ago; it also has seized other Ukrainian nuclear facilities.
'a serious incident (with) potential to undermine the integrity of the reactor's containment system' but stressed that the damage did not compromise nuclear safety.
earthquake without tsunami near Fukushima in Okama, Japan (March 2022)
A deadly 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck off-shore late on Wednesday night March 16th, but appears not to have created the kind of tsunami that devastated the region in March 2011. Tsunami warnings were lifted on Thursday, and officials are still inspecting the extent of the damage. At least four people were killed and more than 160 were injured; two million people initially lost power. The earthquake struck about 55 miles from the location of the devastating 2011 quake, but hasn't prompted a national emergency this time. The quake also derailed a Tohoku Shinkasen bullet train, leaving 78 people trapped onboard for hours until they were able to escape through an emergency exit.
another radiation leak at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in SE New Mexico (April 2022)
2022 late Saturday April 9: An area at the U.S. government’s nuclear waste repository in southeastern New Mexico was evacuated over the weekend after workers handling a shipping container discovered a small amount of radioactive liquid inside it; there was no indication of airborne contamination and testing of workers’ hands & feet turned up no contamination; the discovery was made in a bay where containers are processed before being taken underground for disposal. Officials said that “The event at the site has been secured. There is no risk of radiological release and there is no risk to the public or the environment.” It wasn’t immediately clear where the liquid came from and which government facility had packed & shipped it.
nuclear power plant shuts down in Minnesota (March 2023)
2023 March: One week after Xcel Energy and state officials belatedly acknowledged a leak that occurred at a central Minnesota nuclear power plant in November, the operator of the facility in Monticello, Minnesota announced that it would be taken offline Friday March 24 to repair a new leak. Federal regulators are monitoring the area near the Mississippi River amid concerns that radioactive materials - specifically tritium - could wind up in drinking water; officials insisted in a statement that the leak poses "no risk to the public or the environment".
The simpler date-event listings were moved from here to the Spirit of America Bookstore U.S. Timeline Pages
and to the Atomic USA Timeline in April 2012;
further expanded incident entries are being coded here.
here on the Atomic U.S.A. Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore
on Page 1: top of page • general links • Los Alamos / Manhattan Project • timeline • image gallery
on Page 2: top of page • Trinity Test Site in NM • Japan + Hiroshima + Nagasaki • Pacific Island tests •
hydrogen bomb • civil defense, daily life & aftermath • nuclear weapons disasters
here on Page 3: top of page • nuclear energy disasters + Chernobyl, 1986 + Fukushima, 2011
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