SL-1 Experimental Power Station, Idaho USA 1961 – Level 4 This was classified as Level 4 on the INES and to this day remains the most serious civil Nuclear disaster in French history.ħ. On the 17 th October, 1969 50 kg of uranium in one of the gas cooled reactors began to melt. Another 17 people outside of the reactor room absorbed doses ranging from 35 rad to less than 1 rad. There was an excursion of 3x10 fissions at the RA-2 facility with the operator absorbing 2000 rad of gamma and 1700 rad of neutron radiation. Buenos Aires, Argentina 1983 – Level 4Īn operator’s errors during a fuel plate reconfiguration lead to him dying two days later. To make matters worse, 21 civilians were also exposed to high doses of radiation and residents within a thousand feet of the plant were evacuated.ĩ. Two of the workers eventually died with another fifty six plant workers also being exposed to high levels of radiation. When a group of unqualified workers decided to put more highly enriched uranium in a precipitation tank than was permitted, disaster struck. Process Industry Forum have scrawled the web and created a Top 10 for the worst Nuclear disasters of all time: Small incidents occur and can be rectified, but when there are large incidents, the impact can often be catastrophic.Įach Nuclear disaster has been given a level on the International Nuclear Event Scale (INES).Ĭlick on the header of each nuclear disaster for a detailed look at each event. With 437 Nuclear Power Plants worldwide, there are bound to be incidents every now and again. It is estimated that Chernobyl wont be inhabited for at least another 20,000 years.ĭespite the threat of Nuclear disasters, believe it or not, Nuclear Power Plants are prominent and provide approximately 5.7% of the world’s energy and 13% of the world’s electricity. The long term effects of Nuclear disasters can often spread over thousands of years.

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