Nuclear incidents history

This chapter examines die history of accidents from early incidents to recent catastrophes. In conjunction widi diis review, die material will study the evolution of safety precautions, particularly as diey apply to chemical plants. A crucial part of any design project is the inclusion of safety controls. Wliedier die plans involve a chemical plant, a nuclear reactor, or a dmiway, steps must be taken to minimize the likelihood, or eonsequences, of accidents. It is also important to realize how accident plaiming lias improved in order to monitor today s adi anced teclmologies. This cliapter reviews a variety of actual accidents in order to provide an understanding of diese phenomena, which will supplement the subsequent chapters tliat deal widi diese subjects in significant detail. 

Smaller nuclear accidents included the Hanford, California, americium incident in 1976. In an explosion, a laboratory worker was exposed to radiation that required years of treatment (Breitenstein 1991 Brown 1983). Posttraumatic stress symptoms did not develop. Protective characteristics of the person included being a male older than 40 years and having occupational experience, above average intelligence, no history of mental health problems, religious belief,... 

The Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986 resulted in the largest radiation exposure in recent history. The radioactive materials released contained high levels of radioactive iodine (particularly, with a half-life of 8 days), an element that accumulates in the thyroid gland as a component of thyroid hormone. Following the explosion, people were exposed to deadly radioactive materials estimated to be 100 times greater than that associated with the detonation of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. In Belarus, thyroid cancer in children under 18 increased from an incidence of 0.03-0.05 cases per 100,000 (1986-1988 data) to more than 10 times that level (5-8 cases per 100,000) in the period 1993-2002. Increases in thyroid cancer also were noted in Ukraine, with rates going from 0.02 per 100,000 (1986-1988 data) to 5-10 times that level (1-2.2 per 100,000) over the period from 1993-2002 (Reiners et al., 2013). There is little doubt that Chernobyl radiation exposure caused thyroid cancer among children in the affected area. 

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