List of civilian nuclear incidents
Encyclopedia
This is a list of civilian nuclear incidents which are notable, but do not fit the criteria for inclusion in List of civilian nuclear accidents. Military accidents are listed at List of military nuclear accidents. Civil radiation accidents not involving fissile material
are listed at List of civilian radiation accidents. For a general discussion of both civilian and military accidents, see Nuclear and radiation accidents
.
Fissile
In nuclear engineering, a fissile material is one that is capable of sustaining a chain reaction of nuclear fission. By definition, fissile materials can sustain a chain reaction with neutrons of any energy. The predominant neutron energy may be typified by either slow neutrons or fast neutrons...
are listed at List of civilian radiation accidents. For a general discussion of both civilian and military accidents, see Nuclear and radiation accidents
Nuclear and radiation accidents
A nuclear and radiation accident is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency as "an event that has led to significant consequences to people, the environment or the facility...
.
Scope of this article
In listing civilian nuclear incidents, the following criteria have been followed:- The event should involve fissile materialFissileIn nuclear engineering, a fissile material is one that is capable of sustaining a chain reaction of nuclear fission. By definition, fissile materials can sustain a chain reaction with neutrons of any energy. The predominant neutron energy may be typified by either slow neutrons or fast neutrons...
or a reactor. - The incident must be related directly to radioactive material, not merely (for example) at a nuclear power plant.
- To qualify as "civilian", the nuclear operation/material must be principally for non-military purposes.
- The event must not qualify for the List of civilian nuclear accidents
1960s
- November 1965
- An operator error caused overheating and melting of some fuel in the Experimental Breeder Reactor-1 facility at the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho. There was no radiation release or exposure.
1970s
- 17 April 1970 — Tonga TrenchTonga TrenchThe Tonga Trench is located in the South Pacific Ocean and is deep at its deepest point, known as the Horizon Deep.The Tonga Trench is a convergent plate boundary. The trench lies at the northern end of the Kermadec-Tonga Subduction Zone, an active subduction zone where the Pacific Plate is being...
- The SNAP 27 radioisotope thermoelectric generator aboard the Lunar Module Aquarius reentered the Earth's atmosphere. The LM had been used as a "lifeboat" to help the Apollo 13Apollo 13Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the American Apollo space program and the third intended to land on the Moon. The craft was launched on April 11, 1970, at 13:13 CST. The landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days later, crippling the service module upon which the Command...
crew return to Earth after the Command Module lost electrical power. The vehicle was targeted for the Pacific Ocean to reduce the risk of contamination in the event the RTG broke up, but it is believed to have survived reentry and water impact intact. Periodic radiation checks of the area have found no signs of leakage.
- 22 March 1975 — Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant, AL, United States
- A fire caused by careless technicians cut off many control circuits for two nuclear power reactors of the Tennessee Valley Authority at Browns Ferry Station in Alabama. The fire burned uncontrolled for 7.5 hours and the two operating GE nuclear reactors were at full power when the fire began. One of them went "dangerously out of control" for several hours and was not stabilized until a few hours after the fire was put out. There was some concern about a meltdown, but this did not occur and there was no radioactive contamination.
- March 1977 — Toledo, OH, United States
- An electromagnetic relief valve stuck open following a reactor scram at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant near Toledo, OH. The valve was noticed by operators, and the reactor, manufactured by Babcock & Wilcox, was only slightly damaged.
1990s
- 27 December 1999 — Blayais Nuclear Power PlantBlayais Nuclear Power PlantThe Blayais Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear plant on the banks of the Gironde estuary near Blaye, South Western France operated by Électricité de France.-Description:...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... - Flooding at the Blayais Nuclear Power Plant1999 Blayais Nuclear Power Plant floodThe 1999 Blayais Nuclear Power Plant flood was a flood that took place on the evening of December 27, 1999. It was caused when a combination of the tide and high winds led to the sea walls of the Blayais Nuclear Power Plant in France being overwhelmed...
caused by a combination of high tides and a storm caused damage to equipment and failure of power supplies, leading to a Level 2 event on the International Nuclear Event ScaleInternational Nuclear Event ScaleThe International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale was introduced in 1990 by the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to enable prompt communication of safety significance information in case of nuclear accidents....
.
2000s
- July, 2002 — Chapelcross nuclear power stationChapelcross nuclear power stationChapelcross was a Magnox nuclear power plant located near the town of Annan in Dumfries and Galloway in south west Scotland. It was the sister plant to Calder Hall in Cumbria, England, both commissioned and originally operated by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority.The primary purpose of...
, UK - UK Authorities blamed an incident at a Scottish nuclear plant on "procedural and hardware deficiencies". Fuel rods falling to the floor were deemed responsible for the incident.
- September and October, 2005 — DounreayDounreayDounreay is the site of several nuclear research establishments located on the north coast of Caithness, in the Highland area of Scotland...
, UK - In September, the site's cementation plant was closed when 266 litres of radioactive reprocessing residues were spilled inside containment. In October, another of the site's reprocessing laboratories was closed down after nose-blow tests of eight workers tested positive for trace radioactivity.
- July 25, 2006 -INES Level 2 – Forsmark Nuclear Power PlantForsmark Nuclear Power PlantForsmark Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant in Forsmark, Sweden, and also the site of the Swedish Final repository for radioactive operational waste...
, Sweden - Mains power lost to reactor 1 after an electrical fault. Two of four diesel generators fail, problems related to computer systems (e.g. readings of core water levels) due to earlier electrical fault SCRAMScramA scram or SCRAM is an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor – though the term has been extended to cover shutdowns of other complex operations, such as server farms and even large model railroads...
ed.
- 4 June 2008 — Krško Nuclear Power PlantKrško Nuclear Power PlantThe Krško Nuclear Power Plant is located in Krško, Slovenia. The plant was connected to the power grid on October 2, 1981 and went into commercial operation on January 15, 1983...
, Slovenia – Loss of coolant - Emergency response system ECURIEÉcurieÉcurie is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village situated north of Arras at the junction of the N17 and D60 roads.-Population:-Places of interest:...
(European Community Urgent Radiological Information Exchange) received an alert message following a loss of coolant accident at the Krsko Nuclear Power Plant.
2010s
- March 11–13, 2011 – INES Level needed, Onagawa Nuclear Power PlantOnagawa Nuclear Power PlantThe is a nuclear power plant located on a 1,730,000 m2 site in Onagawa in the Oshika District and Ishinomaki city, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It is managed by the Tohoku Electric Power Company...
, Japan – Turbine damage, possible radioactivity emergency- After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunamiThe 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
of March 11, a fire from the turbine section of the Onagawa Nuclear Power PlantOnagawa Nuclear Power PlantThe is a nuclear power plant located on a 1,730,000 m2 site in Onagawa in the Oshika District and Ishinomaki city, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. It is managed by the Tohoku Electric Power Company...
following the earthquake was reported by Kyodo News. The blaze was in a building housing the turbine, which is sited separately from the plant's reactor, and was soon extinguished. - On 13 March the lowest-level state of emergency was declared regarding the Onagawa plant by TEPCO, as radioactivity readings temporarily exceeded allowed levels in the area of the plant. TEPCO stated this was due to radiation from the Fukushima I nuclear accidents and not from the Onagawa plant itself. Events are still developing.
- After the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
- March 11–13, 2011 – INES Level needed, Tōkai Nuclear Power PlantTokai Nuclear Power PlantThe was Japan's first nuclear power plant. It was built in the early 1960s to the British Magnox design, and generated power from 1966 until it was decommissioned in 1998. A second nuclear plant, built at the site in the 1970s, was the first in Japan to produce over 1000 MW of electricity, and...
, Japan – Reactor cooling pump damage- Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunamiThe 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
the number 2 reactor was one of eleven nuclear reactors to be shut down automaticallyScramA scram or SCRAM is an emergency shutdown of a nuclear reactor – though the term has been extended to cover shutdowns of other complex operations, such as server farms and even large model railroads...
. It was reported on 14 March that a cooling system pump for the number 2 reactor had stopped working. Japan Atomic Power Company stated that there was a second operational pump and cooling was working, but that two of three diesel generators used to power the cooling system were out of order. Events are still developing.
- Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami
See also
- Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents
- Criticality accidentCriticality accidentA criticality accident, sometimes referred to as an excursion or a power excursion, is an accidental increase of nuclear chain reactions in a fissile material, such as enriched uranium or plutonium...
- International Nuclear Events Scale
- List of Chernobyl-related articles
- List of crimes involving radioactive substances
- List of nuclear reactors. a comprehensive annotated list of the world's nuclear reactors
- Nuclear powerNuclear powerNuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
- Nuclear power debateNuclear power debateThe nuclear power debate is about the controversy which has surrounded the deployment and use of nuclear fission reactors to generate electricity from nuclear fuel for civilian purposes...
- Nuclear reactor technology
- RadiationRadiationIn physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
External links
- http://www.hse.gov.uk/foi/ines/ Civilian nuclear incidents in the UK since 2001
- http://www-news.iaea.org/news/ IAEA INES database