Nuclear Power Catastrophes

There have been three major nuclear power Catastrophes to date: The 1986 meltdown of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the 2011 failure of the Fukushima Daiichi reactor’s cooling system, and the 1989 meltdown at Three Mile Island.

• Chernobyl

  
  

  • In 1986 the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine suffered a catastrophic meltdown as a result of a flawed reactor design.

  
  

  • http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Chernobyl-Accident/

    • Provided by the World Nuclear Association, this website discusses the Chernobyl accident in 1986. This source contains a text description, as well as useful maps and diagrams.

    
    
    

  • http://www.greenfacts.org/en/chernobyl/

    • Provided by Green Facts, this source discusses the Chernobyl meltdown in quite a bit of detail This source provides clear summaries, useful details, and helpful images.

    
    
    

  • http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/chernobyl-bg.html

    • Provided by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, this source discussed the background, aftereffects, and the nuclear regulatory commission’s response.

    
    
    

• Fukushima Daiichi

  
  

  • On March 11, 2011 a 15 meter tall tsunami disabled the power supply and cooling systems of three of Fukushima Daiichi reactors, causing a meltdown. This resulted in a high amount of radiation being released into the environment, the effects of which we are still trying to understand today.

  
  

  • http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/fukushima-accident/

    • Provided by the World Nuclear Association, this source discusses the events leading up to the Fukushima Daiichi Reactor meltdown.

    
    
    

  • http://fukushima.ans.org/

    • Provided by the American Nuclear Society Special Committee on Fukishima, this source provides the results gathered thus far by the Committee.

    
    
    

  • http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/decommision/index-e.html

    • Provided by the Tokyo Electric Power Company, this website provides updates on the current situation at the Fukiushima Daiichi reactor.

    
    
    

• Three Mile Island

  
  

  • On March 28, 1979, the nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island experienced a nuclear meltdown. Half of the fuel in one of the two nuclear reactors melted in place. Although most of the radioactivity was contained, large quantities still escaped into the environment.

  
  

  • http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/three-mile-island-accident/

    • Provided by the World Nuclear Association, this source the events leading up to the Three Mile Island Accident, the actual event, and its effects.

    
    
    

  • http://americanhistory.si.edu/tmi/

    • Provided by the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, this source discusses the Three Mile Island meltdown, and provides several useful images.

    
    
    

  • http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/three/filmmore/description.html

    • Provided by PBS, this website has quite a bit of information about the Three Mile Island incident, including images, videos, and timelines.