Nuclear power has a dark history of catastrophic accidents. Join us as we explore the most devastating nuclear incidents that shocked the world, revealing the terrifying consequences of technological mishaps and human error.
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00:00Remain indoors. Close all windows and doors.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most disastrous and deadliest radioactive accidents across history.
00:11When we arrived at Fukushima Daiichi, it was so quiet. No wind. An eerie silence.
00:19National Research Experimental Accident, Ontario, Canada.
00:23Even top-of-the-line equipment can still unexpectedly malfunction.
00:27When it was first launched, the National Research Experimental Reactor in Canada was the strongest in the world.
00:33That power wasn't without risks, and in 1952 it caused the planet's first big reactor-based accident.
00:39A combination of human error and technical difficulties created the perfect storm,
00:44resulting in a surge of radioactive energy that spilled into the air and nearby waterways.
00:49Luckily, it was caught early enough that it didn't become deadly, but the subsequent cleanup ended up taking months.
00:55Wearing protective respirators, waste men gather all discarded material, bury it in huge isolated dumps.
01:02Much of it may be dug up and used again six months to three years hence.
01:06They even required the help of the U.S. Navy, including future President Jimmy Carter.
01:11While it could have ended much worse, in a way it served as a warning of the potential danger such research posed.
01:18Radioactive contamination is silent and deadly. A special health crew checks workers constantly.
01:25Each worker checks himself before leaving the plant.
01:28JCO Tokimura Nuclear Accident, Tokai, Japan.
01:31In the nuclear field, precision is everything. One wrong move can result in deadly consequences.
01:37The citizens of Tokai, Japan, are no stranger to this, having experienced multiple incidents caused by the JCO Tokimura facility.
01:45Throughout the late 1990s, employees were tasked with converting uranium into fuel,
01:50a highly complicated process that requires near-perfect skill.
01:54However, in an attempt to save time, the higher-ups made workers cut corners without telling them that this was unauthorized.
02:02On September 30th, 1999, their erroneous practices triggered a massive nuclear fission reaction,
02:09which made two operators fall ill immediately and die several months later.
02:13The exposure lasted nearly a full day, affecting hundreds of civilians and costing the company over $120 million in compensation payments.
02:22Bohonice A-1 Accident, Javzlovské Bohonice, Slovakia.
02:26Some facilities have tried their hands at nuclear power for decades, with varying levels of success.
02:31The Javzlovské Bohonice plant is a prime example, where early reactors proved so dangerous they were eventually shut down.
02:38Unlike standard reactors, though, those at Bohonice Power Plant were refuelled while in operation.
02:44If that sounds like a recipe for disaster, well, you'd be right. It was problematic from the very beginning.
02:50During one of these precarious fuel changes in 1977, blockage caused heavy water to enter the reactor and corrupt it,
02:58destroying a quarter of the elements needed.
03:01The events were ultimately kept secret, and the problematic A-1 reactor was decommissioned.
03:06It wasn't until 1984 that a fully functional replacement finally went online.
03:11Goiânia Accident, Goiânia, Brazil.
03:14While several nuclear incidents have been caused by poor working conditions, this one was the result of human malice.
03:21It started in September 1987, when scrap dealers pillaged and then sold a metal canister from an abandoned medical clinic.
03:30In 1987, a capsule containing about 93 grams of highly radioactive cesium chloride was stolen with the intent of being sold as scrap metal.
03:39Within hours of disassembling it, the thieves started to experience classic side effects of radiation poisoning, including vomiting.
03:46Despite these symptoms, one of them kept tinkering with it, eventually puncturing the glass to reveal a glowing blue substance.
03:53Afterwards, the capsule was sold and passed around, with hundreds being infected and multiple people dying.
04:00It took about two weeks for the source to be confirmed. By then, just under 250 people had been contaminated.
04:06The powdery cesium spread undetected for over two weeks.
04:11SL-1, Idaho, United States of America.
04:14The Idaho operations dispatcher broadcast the alarm over the testing station radio network, informed the security division duty officer,
04:22and in accordance with pre-planning, requested that a health physicist be dispatched from the materials testing reactor.
04:28Despite its history with nuclear weapons, the U.S. is no stranger to incidents on its own soil.
04:34The SL-1 nuclear reactor accident was one of the worst the country has ever seen.
04:38On January 3rd, 1961, after being shut down for nearly two weeks for the holidays, the reactor was restarted,
04:46a process that required partially extracting several control rods.
04:50However, one of the rods was pulled out too far, which rapidly increased the heat, causing the reactor to expand and explode.
04:57All three operators were killed in the accident.
04:59As most of the radiation was contained within the facility, it was the cleanup crews that received the brunt of exposure.
05:06This incident intensified fears about nuclear power, foreshadowing future emergencies.
05:12Prompt and factual release of information from the start alleviated public concern.
05:17Three Mile Island accident, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
05:22We may have some minor fuel damage, but we don't believe at this point that it's extensive.
05:27While SL-1 was a disaster, it unfortunately wasn't the only one in U.S. history.
05:33In 1979, the reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania experienced a malfunction in its cooling system.
05:39This, combined with a series of human errors, ultimately led to a partial meltdown.
05:44Once discovered, it caused an immediate panic, with a 1961 disaster immediately coming to mind.
05:51Not wanting a repeat incident, authorities quickly sent out evacuation advisories.
05:55The situation here has become more and more confusing each day since the initial release on Wednesday morning,
06:01as several state and federal agencies try to react to the crisis.
06:05The local government corroborated these warnings, prompting over 100,000 people to flee.
06:10Luckily, the amount of radiation released was negligible, proving the cautious response to be overblown.
06:16While no one was hurt, it had a huge impact on the field, causing widespread distrust and significantly stalling progress.
06:24Power company officials say it will be weeks, perhaps months, before reactor number two is back in operation.
06:30Windscale Fire. Windscale, United Kingdom.
06:33The removal of leaking cartridges inside the reactors was a desperate measure to stop the contamination at its source.
06:40Throughout the 1950s, several countries created their own nuclear research facilities.
06:45For the United Kingdom, this was Windscale, initially dedicated to producing plutonium for nuclear weapons.
06:51However, the British government also wanted to create titanium for hydrogen bombs.
06:56But as they lacked the time to build a new reactor, they simply modified the existing ones.
07:01This caused the reactor to overheat, and on October 10th, 1957, one of the cartridges caught fire.
07:09As serious as a burst cartridge was, the team had faced that situation before.
07:14The problem was, it wasn't a burst cartridge.
07:18Once this blaze started, the cooling fans in the reactor only spread it further, and attempts to extinguish it proved counterproductive.
07:26The fire lasted for hours, releasing radioactive materials into the atmosphere, which contaminated milk produced in the area.
07:33This led to a localized ban on milk sales and consumption.
07:37Scientists warned that milk production in the Windscale area might have to stop if the remaining undamaged reactor started again and the leaks continued.
07:46The Kyshtym disaster, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
07:501957 wasn't just a rough year in the United Kingdom.
07:54Another country suffered an even more horrific nuclear event, the long-term effects of which are still being fully realized today.
08:01The problem was that the nuclear facilities at Mayak were built in great haste.
08:06Stalin gave the Soviet nuclear program top priority in order to catch up with the US.
08:12In what was once the Soviet Union, Kyshtym was built in an attempt to match the work already carried out by American researchers.
08:19It was done improperly from the beginning, with contaminated water being released into the local lake.
08:25Their lack of safety regulations came back to bite them when an underground tank containing liquid nuclear waste blew up, releasing toxic material into the air and devastating a nearby town.
08:36Despite being the worst nuclear disaster up until Chernobyl, the incident was largely covered up, leading to thousands being displaced without an explanation.
08:46Fukushima nuclear accident, Fukushima, Japan.
08:49Just as we were about to get out of the jeep to connect the hose, it exploded.
08:56Although it's the most recent incident on this list, it remains one of the worst.
09:01In 2011, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the seismic scale ripped through Japan, which then triggered a massive tsunami directly afterwards.
09:10Both cataclysmic natural events caused extreme damage to the Fukushima Daiichi plant by causing a complete power failure and ruining their backup energy sources.
09:20The reactor's inability to cool down caused it to weaken and release radiation into the air.
09:25Leaking hydrogen had exploded in the roof of the reactor building, but the reactor core itself was intact.
09:32The two operators were badly burned and had to be hospitalized, while thousands of residents were forced to evacuate, with many losing their lives in the process.
09:41In the aftermath, several people were charged and fired.
09:44But while some have pleaded guilty, no official consequences have been announced.
09:49This is where the plant's highly radioactive contaminated water ends up.
09:54Anything that's been in or around the reactor and the molten fuel comes here and is processed through these pipes and filters to remove 62 different types of radioactive materials.
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10:21Chernobyl disaster.
10:22Pripyat, Ukraine.
10:27Hey, let's see inside.
10:29I don't have to.
10:31Look, that's graphite on the roof.
10:34The whole building's been blown open.
10:36Considered the worst nuclear disaster in history, the Chernobyl incident claimed several lives and devastated local ecosystems.
10:43An accidental meltdown in the number four reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused a spread of radioactive chemicals across Europe.
10:51Ironically enough, it was caused by a poorly executed safety check, and its consequences are still being felt today.
10:59The chain of disaster is now complete.
11:06It's been estimated that it released more radioactive material than both atomic bombs dropped during World War II.
11:13The long-term health effects have continued to emerge, particularly an uptick in childhood diagnoses and deaths from thyroid cancer.
11:20With the cleanup spanning decades and costing billions, it's clear that people will continue to be affected for generations to come.
11:28And one big problem which Western scientists see in Soviet plants is the lack of a containment building.
11:34Which of these disasters do you think will have the largest long-term impact on Earth?
11:39Let us know in the comments below.
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