Russian television reports huge post-Chernobyl thyroid cancer rates and urges medical check ups

[bananas]

http://www.bellona.org/news/news_2008/chernobyl_thyroid

Russian television reports huge post-Chernobyl thyroid cancer rates and urges medical check ups

Russian state Channel One’s programme “Health” has warned that in the wake of the Chernobyl accident 22 years ago, doctors are seeing an increase in thyroid disease and are recommending that Russians between the ages of 20 and 40 turn to health care professionals to have their thyroids checked.

Bellona, 24/09-2008

More than 20 years following the devastating explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986, a spike in thyroid disease is being noted in a number of regions in Russia.

According to Channel One’s “Health,” patients examined in the Tula and Orlov Regions, thyroid cancer has been observed 20 to 70 times above normal levels, the programme quoted Professor Vladimir Parshin as saying.

“We have already seen 36,000 patients in the Tula Region and 32,000 in the Orlov region,” the programme quoted Parshin as saying. Doctors are suggesting that anyone between the ages of 20 and 40 who lived in the Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov nad Tula regions in 1986 to seek medical examinations.

The programme suggested that those who were between the ages of zero and 18 in 1986 should seek ultrasound examinations of their thyroid glands at local clinic, even if they feel healthy.

Channel One is also conducting a survey called “Echo of Chernobyl,” which purports to reveal how well informed viewers are about the Chernobyl disaster and its results, and whether there is appropriate medical care available where they live.

[NNadir]

1. Normal levels? Do you know what normal levels are? You don't?

Why am I not surprised?

One of the things that the anti-nuke squads do with their heart rending bullshit "concern trolling" is to not mention that the normal operations of any coal fired plant of comparable size in terms of absolute numbers killed far exceed numbers from the only fatal nuclear accident ever.

In fact the absolute numbers are rather unremarkable when compared to say, air pollution deaths each year in Ukraine and Russia, which were in 2003, respectively 15,200 and 37,200 from outdoor air pollution, i.e. that caused by the normal operations of dangerous fossil fuel plants.

http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/countryprofilesebd.xls

Were we to add the cost of dangerous fossil fuel accidents in lives, of course, the numbers would be far more drastic.

The anti-nuke attention to these fact? ZERO. ZERO. ZERO. THEY COULDN'T CARE LESS.

But thyroid cancer from the only fatal nuclear accident in 30 years, huge flows of outrage.

But then we have this case: http://www.springerlink.com/content/x8507140q1616688/

Between 1986-2003, 87 cases of thyroid cancer were observed among Russian emergency workers at Chernobyl. That works out to about 4 a year, among a population of 100,000's of so called liquidators.

Of course comparing dangerous tens of thousands of fossil fuels deaths per year with less than 100 deaths over a period of 17 years could be construed as deliberate indifference, but I just think our fossil fuel apologists simply don't care.

Maybe calling it outright lying wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

Note that there has been only one incidence of a Chernobyl type event in the last 25 years, while normal fossil fuel operations never let a day without huge numbers of deaths pass.

The anti-nuke cults push their religion through selective attention. Nuclear power need not be risk free to be better than everything else. It merely needs to be better than everything else, which it is.

[sabbat hunter]

2. excellent points

And don't forget that the Chernobyl design was an unsafe one from the beginning, is not used in modern reactors.

Modern nuclear reactors are quite safe, and I would rather live near one of them than a coal fired plant. (currently I live near a gas turbine plant which is somewhat better)

[NNadir]

3. Thank you. An excellent review of the radiological health effects of Chernobyl can be found in

International Congress Series 1299 (2007) 39–45.

The title of the paper is "Radiological health effects 20 years after the Chernobyl accident: Data of the National Radiation and Epidemiological Registry"

The authors are: Victor K. Ivanov ⁎, Marat A. Maksioutov, Anatoly F. Tsyb,
Anton I. Gorski, Sergey Yu. Chekin, Konstantin A. Tumanov,
Valery V. Kashcheev.

Their institution is:

Medical Radiological Research Center, National Radiation and Epidemiological Registry,
Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, 4 Korolyov Street, Obninsk 249036, Russia
Abstract.

[kristopher]

4. The preceeding message brought to you courtesy of the Nuclear Energy Institute.

[NNadir]

5. If you would like to refute any of the thousands of published articles without applying

ignorance, inneundo, and your other intellectually void rote crap, you are free to publish a paper questioning any of the literature I cite.

However, it is clear from your continued reliance on wild speculation that it is very unlikely that any reputable journal would publish anything you have to say.

The cited paper is Russian. The American NEI has nothing to do with it, although you will insist they do simply because you have a faith based mentality. You do not have any skills whatsoever at addressing the message, and therefore, like a primitive, attack the messenger.

You did not read the paper. You do not know how to read it. And you cannot contradict the data found in it. Further, it is very clear that you do not care about the deaths associated with your indifference.

[kristopher]

10. From the field to the publisher

perhaps there is no NEI involvement. From the library at the Nuclear Energy Institute to DU.... well, that might be a different kettle of fish.

There remains, however, a lack of evidence of any clearly demonstrated effect of
Chernobyl radiation exposures on the risk of leukaemia or solid cancers other than thyroid
cancer. There have been reports of an elevated incidence of all solid cancers combined, as
well as of specific cancers in Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, but much of the
increase appears to be due to other factors, including improvements in diagnosis, reporting and
registration. An increase in the incidence of breast cancer in the most heavily contaminated
districts suggests a possible relation to radiation exposure. Recent studies suggest a doubling
of leukaemia risk among Chernobyl liquidators. Both of these findings need confirmation
in well designed analytical epidemiological studies with careful reconstruction of individual
organ doses.
As noted above, studies of cancer risk other than thyroid are few and most have
methodological limitations. Doses to most organs outside the thyroid tended to be low and
studies lacked statistical power. Further, it is thought that for most solid cancers the latent
period is likely to be longer than for leukaemia or thyroid cancer—of the order of 10–15 years
or more (Cardis et al 2005b). Because studies of external radiation indicate that radiation-
related risks of solid cancers remain elevated throughout life, it is too early to evaluate the full
radiological impact of the Chernobyl accident.
The fact that no significant increased cancer risk, apart from thyroid cancer, has been
conclusively demonstrated to date among populations most exposed to the Chernobyl accident
does not therefore imply that no increase in risk has occurred. Indeed, based on the experience
of other populations exposed to ionising radiation, it is expected that the low to moderate doses
received will have led to a small increase in the relative risk of cancer. Given the large number
of individuals exposed, the absolute number of cancer cases caused by a small increase in the
relative risk could be substantial, particularly in the future.
...

Today, nearly 20 years after the Chernobyl accident, the large increase in thyroid cancer
incidence among those exposed in childhood and adolescence continues; fortunately, few of
these have been fatal. In contrast, at this time, no clearly demonstrated increase in the incidence
of other cancers can be attributed to radiation exposure from the accident.
Of course, the absence of a demonstrated increase in total cancer risk is not proof that
no increase has, in fact, occurred. Based on the experience of atomic bomb survivors and of
populations with medical and occupational exposures to ionising radiation, a small increase
138 E Cardis et al
in the relative risk of cancer is expected, even at the low to moderate doses received. Given
the very large number of individuals exposed, even a small increase in the relative risk would
result in a substantial number of radiation-related cancer cases in the future. In the coming
years, careful studies of selected populations and health outcomes are needed in order to study
the full effects of the accident and compare them to predictions.

From: Cancer consequences of the Chernobyl accident: 20 years on

INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS PUBLISHING JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGICAL PROTECTION
J. Radiol. Prot. 26 (2006) 127–140 doi:10.1088/0952-4746/26/2/001

[happydreams]

6. Check this out about TMI

http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/7/2007/1613
People were killed by Three Mile Island & other nuclear disasters
November 18, 2007

One of the biggest lies ever told in American industrial history is that "no one died at Three Mile Island."

In the frenzy to get public funding for still more nuclear reactors, some industry backers now say no one has ever been killed by the nuclear industry AT ALL.

These absurd statements reflect atomic energy's desperate need for federal loan guarantees, which have been slipped into the Energy Bill now before Congress. After fifty years of proven failure, no private sources will invest in this lethal, expensive technology.

Meanwhile billions are pouring into the booming business of green power, including wind, solar power and increased efficiency. These technologies are not only profitable and clean, they don't kill people.

And the reality is that people have, in fact, been killed by the fallout from atomic power, and not just at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.

...

In 1979, human error caused the melt-down at Three Mile Island Unit Two. The reactor's owners immediately denied there was any melting of fuel. This was a lie. Robotic cameras later showed that at least a third of the fuel had melted.

The owners said there was never a danger of a major catastrophe. That was a lie. The plant was very much at the brink of an apocalyptic radiation release.

The owners ridiculed those---among them Pennsylvania's Secretary of Health---who desperately warned that local citizens should be evacuated, especially to protect pregnant women and small children. The governor finally ordered just such an evacuation, but later fired his long-time friend at the Department of Health, who had advocated the evacuation, and who warned of damage from TMI's stealth radioactive fallout.

TMI's owners denied that its releases harmed anyone. But the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has admitted to Congress that nobody knows how much radiation escaped or where it went.

Official statistics showed a huge jump in infant death rates in Harrisburg in the three months after the accident compared to the numbers for the previous two years. State statistics showing heightened cancer rates were quickly altered. The state's tumor registry was abolished. Evidence showing downwind health effects was suppressed.

But an investigative team from the Baltimore News-Herald uncovered a massive epidemic of death and disease among the area's farm and wild animals.

In early 1980, I reported from ground zero on a ghastly epidemic of human death and disease. Based on a horrifying series of house-to-house interviews, I found cancer, heart attacks, respiratory problems, skin lesions, cataracts, a metallic taste in the mouth, hair loss, birth defects and everything else you'd expect from a major radiation release was everywhere to be found.

With three other researchers, I spent two years investigating these and other parallel epidemics at nuclear facilities throughout the United States. Our findings were published in 1982 by Dell/Delta in a book called KILLING OUR OWN (www.ratical.org/radiation/KillingOurOwn/KOO.pdf ) that showed a similar death toll throughout the nuclear fuel cycle---especially at uranium mines, mills and enrichment facilities---and at weapons production plants, waste storage pools and much more.

At TMI, 2400 central Pennsylvania families filed a class action lawsuit seeking justice. But the federal courts have never allowed their case to be heard.

Studies by Steven Wing of the University of North Carolina have confirmed the TMI death toll. Researcher Joe Mangano and others have used the government's own statistics to show a heightened cancer rate in the region. Parallel studies have correlated radioactive emissions with infant death rates, cancer rates and other health epidemics around other operating reactors.

[NNadir]

7. Oh bullshit.

You clearly get your info from the vast circle jerk of self referential anti-nuke websites, and not the scientific literature.

Wing's dickhead claims have been around for years and thousands of dumb anti-nukes have been presenting them as a fact.

However, Harrisburg PA seems not to have fucking noticed.

If you are here to claim that everyone in Harrisburg is dead, do so.

Keep in mind that the number of people who die each year from your studied indifference to dangerous fossil fuel waste dumping, dangerous fossil fuel accidents, dangerous fossil fuel wars etc clearly outstrips the population of Harrisburg PA.

You do know what the population of Harrisburg is, don't you?

You don't?

No fucking idea?

Why don't you ask one of the illiterates over at the anti-science rat hole ratical.org to give you the fucking figures.

And now, from the World Health Organization http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/countryprofilesebd.xls

And while we're at it, how come we don't find any of the dummies over at ratical.org giving a rat's ass about the http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/8/6/215031/9285/591/563862">One of the world's largest exposures to carciongenic materials related to energy?

Mostly because the population of ratical.org consists almost wholly of uninformed, uneducated, unenlightened yuppie brats with ZERO critical thinking skills.

[happydreams]

8. Uh, get yer panties in a bunch much?

Hee, hee. :bounce:



Here is corroboration that not all was cool after the near meltdown, including info from a noteworthy whose written a couple of books on the issue:

Copes available at: http://www.envirovideo.com

Three Mile Island Revisited documentary on Free
Speech TV



The award-winning documentary Three Mile Island
Revisited will be aired on Free Speech TV (Dish
Network, channel 9415) the week of March 28,
2005 -- the 26th anniversary of the most serious
commercial nuclear plant accident in U.S. history.



Hosted and narrated by Karl Grossman and directed
by Steve Jam beck, the documentary challenges the
claims of the nuclear industry and government that
"no one died" as a result of the core meltdown at
Unit-1 of the Three Mile Island nuclear complex in
Pennsylvania.


Three Mile Island Revisited, produced by
EnviroVideo and Green Sphere Inc, is the winner of
the Silver Award at the WorldFest-Houston
International Film Festival and recipient of the
Director's Citation, Black Maria Video and Film
Festival.


The documentary "makes a chilling case that people
did die as a result of the TMI," declared Earth
Island Journal, the publication of the Earth
Island Institute, in its review of Three Mile
Island Revisited.


On March 28, 1979, the cooling system of the
reactor malfunctioned leading to an overheating
and a partial meltdown of the plant's nuclear
core. Indeed, Robert Pollard of the Union of
Concerned Scientists says in Three Mile Island
Revisited that the plant was 30 minutes away from
a full meltdown and this was only prevented by
luck.


Nevertheless, the radioactivity released
immediately and for days and weeks later had major
health impacts. In fact, the owners of the
facility "have quietly given cash
settlements--some as high as $1 million" to the
families of victims, states Grossman in Three Mile
Island Revisited.


Among those interviewed in Three Mile Island
Revisited is Debby Baker who was pregnant at the
time of the accident and whose son was born with
Downs Syndrome. She received $1 million and says
in the documentary: "I learned that our government
covers up many, many things."



See www.envirovideo.com
http://www.envirovideo.com/ > for the FSTV
broadcast schedule.



Do you work for the nuke industry or something? }(





NukeNet] "3 Mile Island Revisted" Documentry On Free Speech TVHosted and narrated by Karl Grossman

[Name removed]

11. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[happydreams]

9. OOps, I should have looked....

Yer profile says nuke physics hobbyist. I shoulda guessed. :smoke:

[jpak]

15. He also claims he invented a molten salt breeder reactor that will make him fabulously rich

A lot of really stupid people fell for that one too...

:rofl:

[happydreams]

16. He's a greedy mofo as well eh. What would he be doing

here trying to razz a bunch of "no nothings" if he got so rich.

:rofl:

[happydreams]

19. Well, on second thought I think he is doing far less "breeding" than he

needs to.

:bounce:

[happydreams]

12. American Chernobyl

Our report, "An American Chernobyl?" identifies almost 200 near misses at 50 reactors that have occurred in the United States since 1986. Of the 200 “precursors to a meltdown” documented in U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) documents, eight are considered the most significant. In other words, according to the NRC, the risk of a core meltdown is greater than a one in 1,000 chance. For the most part, these near misses have not been well-publicized, and the safety and well-being of those who live near these facilities has taken a back seat to the publicity needs of the energy industry.

We learned the hard way that nuclear energy is dangerous. Fortunately, in this day and age, it is also unnecessary. Although the Bush administration is calling for a "nuclear renaissance," to meet our energy needs, we're advocating for a switch to safe, clean, renewable energy sources like wind and solar. We hope our report serves as a stark reminder that nuclear energy is no safer than it was 20 years ago.



Sign our petition against nuclear energy.



http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/usa/press-center/reports4/an-american-chernobyl-nuclear.pdf

[happydreams]

13. Taxpayers holding the bag for these nuke-nuts like NNadir 's games.

Chernobyl Kills While Bought ex-Greenpeacer Shills
by Harvey Wasserman

While children continue to die twenty years after the Chernobyl catastrophe, an out-of-touch (and often corrupt) fringe advocates a "rebirth" for the failed technology that is killing them.

These pro-nuke die-hards seem unable to face the solution to both global warming and our economic future: the exploding revolution in renewable energy and efficiency. Their last-gasp attempt to revive the dead reactor dinosaur may be the last barrier to a truly green-powered planet.

The 1986 explosion at the reactor outside Kiev was the world's worst industrial disaster. It spewed at least 200 times more radiation than the bombing of Hiroshima. It's a fitting tombstone for the most expensive technological failure in human history.

Chernobyl happened exactly 20 years ago. But it is 49 since the first commercial reactor opened at Shippingport, Pennsylvania, in 1957. .....

Chernobyl happened exactly 20 years ago. But it is 49 since the first commercial reactor opened at Shippingport, Pennsylvania, in 1957.

That day the nuke makers said it was "only a matter of time" before private insurers would protect the public from a Chernobyl or Three Mile Island-style accident, both of which they said were "impossible."

In the meantime, Congress passed the Price-Anderson Act, which shielded reactor makers from liability against what did happen at TMI and Chernobyl, and what could be happening as you read this.

A half-century later, we taxpayers are still holding the bag. Not one private insurer will guarantee you or your family against the financial consequences of a reactor disaster. Check out any US homeowner's insurance policy and you'll see their duck and cover in black and white.



more

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0426-20.htm

[NNadir]

14. Actually, the entire planet is paying for your indifference to dangerous fossil fuels.

You don't know shit from Shinola about energy.

You have no fucking idea for instance what the world's largest energy disaster - the one that killed hundreds of thousands of people in a single night - of the twentieth century was.

I'll give you a hint genius, it was in China.

You are an illiterate just the rest of the members of the anti-nuke religion. There is NOT ONE member of your cult who can do anything but engage in fluffy whining about NNadir and my motivations. That's because 100% of the members of the anti-nuke cult are yuppie brat consumers who think that the only reason to do something is money.

Now, genius, while your having your stupid happy dreams, how about we talk a little about close calls?

I have really severe suspicions about your limited ability to read and zero confidence in your ability to think http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/27/23239/9852">A Tale of Two Centimeters: The Near Collapse of the Colorado River Dam System in 1983.

[happydreams]

17. dupe

[NNadir]

24. Dope.

[happydreams]

18. Jeezy wheezy fuckhead. The topic was nuke accidents. Now you

got me floating down the Colorado river and not giving a damn about dams. :crazy:

You sure you didn't OD on radiation you've been playing around with?

[NNadir]

25. Wow, what a genius!

The point that I continously make about every anti-nuke fool I meet is that they claim that only nuclear energy need be risk free, that they take shit out of context because they can't think, are ill informed, and are proposing an arbitrary criteria that causes human death and vast environmental destruction.

There is NOT ONE airhead anti-nuke on this planet - and ALL anti-nukes are airheads - who are informed about risk all of which is relative.

Nuclear power need not be perfect to be vastly superior to every other form of energy. It merely needs to be vastly superior to every other form of energy, which it is.

To deny this, therefore, is to cause death.

The fact is, dickhead, that you are completely clueless about the world's largest energy disaster, because, as is the case with every single one of the intellectually lazy cartoon anti-nukes everywhere - you just don't give a fuck.

[happydreams]

27. I never made that fucking claim you shit-for-brains asshole!

You have said not one goddamn thing to refute the claims made. Nothing!

Struting around like you own the goddamn subject. Just look at the stuff I have cited here and present your case instead of trying to scare me off with your half-ass hostility. :eyes:

[NickB79]

20. Why would the thyroid cancer rates spike now, 22 years later?

I would have thought that the rates should spike shortly after the release of radiation (within the first decade or so), and then taper off as the radioactive material in the environment decays and radiation levels decrease.

Are there any explanations as to why this spike is occurring now? Do thyroid cancers typically grow this slowly?

[kristopher]

26. This paper discusses the topic.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=115&topic_id=172704&mesg_id=172777

There is an excerpt from the article at the above link and the original is available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16738412

ABSTRACT
26 April 2006 marks the 20th anniversary of the Chernobyl accident. On this occasion, the World Health Organization (WHO), within the UN Chernobyl Forum initiative, convened an Expert Group to evaluate the health impacts of Chernobyl. This paper summarises the findings relating to cancer. A dramatic increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer has been observed among those exposed to radioactive iodines in childhood and adolescence in the most contaminated territories. Iodine deficiency may have increased the risk of developing thyroid cancer following exposure to radioactive iodines, while prolonged stable iodine supplementation in the years after exposure may reduce this risk. Although increases in rates of other cancers have been reported, much of these increases appear to be due to other factors, including improvements in registration, reporting and diagnosis. Studies are few, however, and have methodological limitations. Further, because most radiation-related solid cancers continue to occur decades after exposure and because only 20 years have passed since the accident, it is too early to evaluate the full radiological impact of the accident. Apart from the large increase in thyroid cancer incidence in young people, there are at present no clearly demonstrated radiation-related increases in cancer risk. This should not, however, be interpreted to mean that no increase has in fact occurred: based on the experience of other populations exposed to ionising radiation, a small increase in the relative risk of cancer is expected, even at the low to moderate doses received. Although it is expected that epidemiological studies will have difficulty identifying such a risk, it may nevertheless translate into a substantial number of radiation-related cancer cases in the future, given the very large number of individuals exposed.

[happydreams]

21. Increased death rates after TMI

The Following TMI Facts compiled by Nuclear Liabilities
According to National Geographic magazine, "more than half the unit's core melted". - National Geographic, April, 1989.

"It flowed like hot olive oil," said the vice president of the company operating Three Mile Island, in reference to TMI's uranium fuel. - Edward Kintner, executive vice president of GPU Nuclear.

General Public Utilities denies that TMI releases could have harmed anyone, but the company has quietly paid at least $15 million in out of court settlements.

Although the nuclear industry repeatedly told the public that Three Mile Island didn't have a meltdown, about 48 tons of fuel (32%) melted, of which 30 tons reached the bottom of the containment, having melted a 2x5 ft. hole in the inner wall of the containment. - New York Times.

"Jack Herbein confidently predicted that the amount of failed fuel was 'considerably under one percent.' ...As the fuel-damage debate continued, at least 80 percent of the reactor fuel had failed." - Mark Stephens, Three Mile Island.

The following journalists, who spent long periods of time in the area covering the accident, developed cancer and died: Pete Stoler (Time magazine), Bob Shakney (CBS), Paul Cowan (Village Voice), Cathy Machen (ABC), and Jack Pollard (New Era, Lancaster, PA).

All 3 emergency feedwater pumps had been undergoing maintenance for 2 weeks prior to the accident - a serious violation of regulations. The #2 reactor at TMI was not equipped with a supplementary safety system. Temperatures inside the reactor vessel climbed above 752°F (400°C). Hydrogen gas bubble(with oxygen, xenon, argon, etc) reached 30 cubic meters, which, at about 2,000 psi, had the equivalent explosive potential of 3 tons of TNT. On March 30, 52,000 cubic meters of radioactive water were discharged into the Susquehanna River without permission from the NRC. -- The Truth About Chernobyl, by Grigori Medvedev

" A 12:15 p.m. suggestion that the primary cooling system be 'blown-down' or de-pressurized - a maneuver followed by the utility and resulting in the reactor core's being uncovered for a second time."- "Three Mile Island" by Mark Stephens (Random House)

"...a year after it all began, Unit 2 was still not in cold shutdown. In the reactor 1,500 gallons of water had to be added each day to replace the 1,500 gallons that continued to leak daily into the containment sump. With the control rods gone - 69 silver and boron rods melted by the intense heat of March 28, 1979 - only the boron-laden cooling water kept the reactor from coming back to life. After a year, Unit 2 still relied on a single safety system in each area of plant operation. And these systems had been running for a year without maintenance in radiation fields far stronger than they were ever designed to withstand. If the last cooling pump or the last steam generator failed, then the accident at Three Mile Island would pick up right where it had left off in April 1979. Only, this time, there would be no safety systems at all to save the plant."

Statistics indicate that there was a tripling of Harrisburg's infant death rate in the three months after the tmi accident. - Harvey Wasserman, Killing our Own: The Disaster of America's Experience with Atomic Radiation, Dell Publishing, 1982.

Approx. 66 million curies of Iodine 131 was in the reactor at the time of accident.

"From the three months of 1979 prior to the accident at Three Mile Island to the four subsequent months, the infant mortality rate rose in Pennsylvania by almost sixteen percent, in Maryland by 41 percent. The... official 1979-1980 infant mortality rate for Dauphin County was 37 percent higher than the rate for the previous two years; during the same period, the U.S. infant mortality rate dropped by eight percent. The probability... by chance is less than one in one thousand." - Deadly Deceit.

2,500 lawsuits have been filed against Metropolitan Edison, alleging that the accident at TMI has caused a host of radiation induced illnesses. (3/91)

The environmental consultants retained by Metropolitan Edison (owner of TMI) reported: "Based on techniques used in this analysis, dose estimates are consistent with the release of seven million curies of noble gases in the first one and one half days and one million in the next three days, and a relatively small amount thereafter." - Kemeny Commission.


http://www.ki4u.com/three_mile_island.htm


.......... ...............

[happydreams]

22. Before TMI there was the Savannah River accident

Between 50,000 and 100,000 excess deaths occurred after releases from accidents at the Savannah River nuclear weapons facility in 1970 and again at Three Mile Island in 1979. The 1970 Savannah River reactor rod meltdowns were revealed in Congressional hearings held by Senator Glenn (D-Ohio), after 18 years of official concealment. Our discussion in Chapter Four of significant mortality increases in South Carolina and neighboring southern states following the 1970 Savannah River accidents is the first such analysis published. Among the many causes for the increased mortality, we found extraordinary increases in infant deaths from birth defects. The government claims that no radiation was released as a result of the accidents, yet because the Savannah River facility is under military control, accurate emissions data are not publicly available. The significant increases in excess deaths suggest a substantial release may in fact have occurred.

The Brookhaven National Laboratory has documented hundreds, if not thousands, of "routine" and accidental civilian reactor releases since the mid-Sixties, the largest of which occurred at Three Mile Island in 1979. Chapter Five describes our findings of significant mortality increases following the accident, particularly in the ten-county area closest to the stricken reactor. As in the Savannah River case, excess infant deaths from birth defects increased significantly after the Three Mile Island accident, as did excess deaths from child cancer, lung cancer, heart diseases, and other causes.

http://www.ratical.org/radiation/inetSeries/DDoverV.html



...... ...............


.....Chapter Six provides evidence of official concealment and falsification of key data on radiation and its health effects, indicating why these findings have never been made public before. On rare occasion, there has been official acknowledgement of the deep-seated political motivations for understating the potential health effects of low-level radiation. For example, William H. Taft, a U.S. State Department attorney, said in 1981:


The mistaken impression has the potential to be seriously damaging to every aspect of the Department of Defense's nuclear weapons and nuclear propulsion programs. . . . It could adversely affect our relations with our European allies.<1>

Brian Jacobs, "The politics of radiation: when public health and the nuclear industry collide." Greenpeace, July-August, 1988, p. 7.

[happydreams]

23. Long list of nuke accidents

Subject: Calendar of Nuclear Accidents and Events (Updated 21st March)
Calendar of Nuclear Accidents
Below is a calendar that shows the threat that humanity faces from the atom bomb and the nuclear fuel cycle. This calendar gives some examples of the everyday nuclear incidents that have occurred all over the world. It demonstrates how technological failures coupled with human error risk public health and the environment on an almost daily basis.
January
1-1992: Four tons of heavy water spilt at Rajasthan nuclear power plant (India)
2-1993: Leak at Kozloduy nuclear power plant, release of radioactive steam (Bulgaria)
3-1961: Explosion in reactor Idaho Falls (USA); three people killed
4-1965: 6.5 kg plutonium sludge released from Savannah River reprocessing plant (USA)
5-1976: Two workers killed by radioactive carbon dioxide at Bohunice nuclear power plant (Slovakia)
6-1981: Accident at La Hague reprocessing plant (France)
7-1974: Explosion at Leningrad nuclear power plant (Russia)
8-1975: Release of radioactivity from Mihama nuclear power plant (Japan)
9-1993: Radioactive release from leaking fuel rods at Perry nuclear power plant (USA)
10-1987: Nuclear transport accident in the UK
11-1985: In Heilbronn (Germany), a Pershing-II nuclear missile catches fire, three people killed
12-1960: Technicians trying to restart a reactor at Savannah River reprocessing plant almost send it out of control (USA)
13-1964: A B-52 plane crashes with nuclear bombs on board in Maryland (USA)
14-1969: USS Enterprise, nuclear aircraft-carrier, suffers fires and explosions, killing 28 crew members
15-
16-1990: Loss of offsite power with multiple equipment failures at Dresden nuclear power plant (USA)
17-1966: A B-52 plane crashes in Spain causing plutonium contamination
18-1989: Eight workers are contaminated at Savannah River reprocessing plant (USA)
19-1992: Radioactive leak, reactor shut-down at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
20-1993: Technical failure at Paluel causes subcooling accident (France)
21-1969: Technical failure at Swiss experimental nuclear reactor causes release of radioactive water
22-1992: Technical failure in shut-down system at Balakovo nuclear power plant (Russia)
23- 1978: Radioactive helium released from Colorado reactor (USA)
24-1978: Soviet nuclear-powered satellite Cosmos-954 crashes in Canada
25-1982: Steam generator ruptures at R.E. Ginna nuclear power plant (USA)
26-1988: Dangerous temperature rise in a nuclear reactor on board a British submarine
27-1992: Leak causes a shut-down at Darlington nuclear power plant (Canada)
28-1990: Pump failure during a shut-down at Gravelines nuclear power plant (France)
29-1961: A B-52 plane carrying nuclear bombs crashes, the bombs do not explode but three of the eight crew members are killed (USA)
30-
31 -1996: Leakage of radiation due to human error and technical failure at Dimitrovgrad nuclear research centre (Russia)

February
1-1982: Release of 100 cubic metres of radioactive water from Salem nuclear power plant (USA)
2-1993: Breakdown of cooling system for two hours at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
3-1992: Failure of cooling pumps at Kozloduy nuclear power plant (Bulgaria)
4-
5-1986: "Amber alert" (indicating an emergency in one building and a threat to the rest of the plant)" at Sellafield reprocessing plant, UK
6-1974: Explosion and radiation leak at Leningrad nuclear power plant, three people killed (Russia)
7-
8-1991: Release of radioactivity from Fukui nuclear power plant (Japan)
9-1991: Rupture of steam generator pipe causes release of radioactivity at Mihama nuclear power plant (Japan)
10-1992: Technical failure in pump system at Zaporozhe nuclear power plant (Ukraine)
11-1986: Release of 13 tonnes of radioactive carbon dioxide from Transfynydd nuclear power plant (UK)
12-1968: A B-52 plane with nuclear bombs on board crashes near Toronto (Canada)
13-1960: First French nuclear test
14-
15-1993: Spillage of 18,000 litres of heavy water at Darlington nuclear power plant (Canada)
16-1973: Container filled with Cobalt-60 lost in the North Sea
17-1984: Accident at Kozloduy nuclear power plant (Bulgaria)
18-1988: Report of core melt in the nuclear reactor of the Soviet Ice-Breaker "Rossiya"
19-1986: Three workers suffer contamination at the Sellafield reprocessing plant (UK)
20-1990: Eight employees receive radiation exposure at Point Lepreau (Canada)
21-1976: Accident at Bohunice nuclear power plant (Slovakia)
22-1993: High pressure steam accident kills one worker and injures two others at Fukushima nuclear power plant (Japan)
23-1981: Accidental explosion of a Pershing-II missile in Germany
24-1972: Accident on board Soviet nuclear-powered submarine causes vessel to lose all power
25-1983: Failure of automatic shut-down at Salem nuclear power plant (USA)
26-1988: Increased levels of radioactivity at Bohunice nuclear power plant (Slovakia)
27-1983: Nuclear powered satellite falls into the Indian Ocean
28-1992: Software failure in the control computer at Embalse nuclear power plant (Argentina)
March
1-1954: Fall-out of US nuclear weapons test "Bravo" contaminates the inhabitants of the Pacific island of Rongelap.
2-1994: Breakdown of cooling system at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
3-1992: Technical failure at Novovoronezh nuclear power plant (Russia)
4-1977: Kozloduy nuclear power plant affected by an earthquake (Bulgaria)
5-
6-1985: Emergency cooling system out of order at the Grohnde nuclear power plant (Germany)
7-
8-1972: Radioactive water has to be pumped out of the Indian Point nuclear power plant (USA)
9-1992: Fire at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
10-1956: A B-47 plane disappears with nuclear weapons on board in the Atlantic Ocean
11-1958: A B-47 plane loses nuclear bomb in South Carolina (USA)
12-1981: Tornado washes nuclear waste from Moruroa into the lagoon (Pacific)
13-1986: US nuclear submarine runs aground and suffers damage
14-1961: A B-52 plane crashes with nuclear bombs on board in California (USA)
15-1989: Technical failure of fuel roads at Pickering nuclear power plant (Canada)
16-
17-1984: Emergency cooling system at San Onofere nuclear power plant fails (USA)
18-1987: Fire and release of radioactivity at Australian nuclear research facility
19-
20-1977: Temperature increase at Rancho Seco nuclear power plant (USA)
21-1984: Soviet nuclear submarine collides with US aircraft carrier "Kitty Hawk"
22-1975: Fire in reactor at Browns Ferry nuclear power plant (USA)
23-
24-1992: Incident with radiation leakage, shut-down of reactor at Leningrad nuclear power plant (Russia)
25-1992: Technical failure at Leningrad nuclear power plant (Russia)
26-1991: Refuelling accident at Wuergassen nuclear power plant (Germany)
27-
28-1979: Partial core meltdown at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant (USA)
29-1992: Failure of shut-down system at Ignalina nuclear power plant (Lithuania)
30-
31-1992: Automatic shut-down due to failure of pump system at Kalinin nuclear power plant (Russia)

April
1-1989: Control rod failure at Gravelines nuclear power plant (France)
2-1979: Two workers suffer radioactive contamination at Tokaimura nuclear complex (Japan)
3-1960: Melting of fuel elements cause a release of radioactivity at the Test Reactor at Waltz Mills (USA)
4-
5-
6-1993: Explosion at the Tomsk-7 nuclear complex (Russia)
7-1992: Failure of automatic shut-down system at Novovoronezh nuclear power plant (Russia)
8-1989: Soviet nuclear submarine "Komsomolets" sinks off Norway
9-1981: US-nuclear submarine "George Washington" crashes against a freighter ship
10-1963: US-nuclear submarine sinks with 123 crew members in the Atlantic
11-1950: A B-29 plane crashes in New Mexico, thirteen people killed.
12-1970: Soviet nuclear submarine sinks in the Atlantic
13-1979: Fire in the generator of the Baersbeck nuclear power plant (Sweden)
14-1970: Soviet nuclear submarine sinks with 52 crew members in Indian ocean
15-1983: Incident at Turkey Point nuclear power plant (USA)
16-1992: Technical failure of reactor shut-down system at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
17-1970: Incident involving a vehicle at a French nuclear test site in the South Pacific causes a plutonium spillage into the ocean.
18-1992: Technical failure during refuelling at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
19-1984: Technical failure at Sequoyah nuclear power plant causes spillage of radioactive coolant water. (USA)
20-1973: Thousands of cubic meters of radioactive waste flow out of Hanford nuclear weapons complex (USA)
21-1964: US-satellite disperses 1.2.kg plutonium into the atmosphere.
22-1983: Reactor shut-down due to failure of fuel rods at Kursk nuclear power plant (Russia)
23-1991: Lost of offsite power cause technical failure at "Vermont Yankee" nuclear submarine (USA)
24-
25-1990: Flooding of building due to increase of coolant level at Bohunice nuclear power plant (Slovakia)
26-1986: Explosion of reactor 4 at Chernobyl nuclear power plant; the worst civilian nuclear accident to date.
27-
28-1988: Release of 5000 Curies of tritium gas from the Bruyere le Chatel military nuclear complex (France)
29-1986: US-nuclear submarine "Atlanta" hits the ground off Gibralta
30-1992: Breakdown of cooling system at Novovoronezh nuclear power plant (Russia)
May
1-1992: Technical failure at Ignalina nuclear power plant (Lithuania)
2-1979: Technical fault at the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant triggers emergency shut-down (USA)
3-1974: Leakage at Hanford nuclear weapons complex (USA)
4-1986: Release of radiation from Hamm-Uentrop nuclear power plant (Germany)
5-1987: Pershing nuclear missile ends up in a ditch after a transport accident at Heilbronn (Germany)
6-1989: Fire of pump equipment at Bohunice nuclear power plant (Slovakia)
7-1992: Failure of emergency system at Smolensk nuclear power plant (Russia)
8-1964: First Chinese nuclear test
9-1992: Technical failure of cooling system at Hatch nuclear power plant (USA)
10-1965: Release of eight cubic metres of cooling water from Savannah River reprocessing plant (USA)
11-1969: Fire at Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant causes plutonium to spontaneously ignite. (USA)
12-1984: Uncontrolled power surge at Bohunice nuclear power plant (Slovakia)
13-1992: Tube leak causes a radioactive release of 12 Curies of radioactivity from Tarapur nuclear power station (India)
14-1986: The power lines to the Palo Verde nuclear power plant are sabotaged (USA)
15-
16-1992: Reactor shut-down at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
17-1984: Fire on board the US-nuclear submarine "Guitarro"
18-1968: Accident during launch of US satellite, radioactive materials fall into ocean near Califiornia coast
19-
20-1974: First Indian nuclear test
21-1968: US-nuclear submarine "Scorpion" sinks off the Acores, 99 people die
22-1957: Human error causes a B-36 plane to release a nuclear bomb in New Mexico
23-1958: Accident and release of radioactivity at the Chalk River experimental reactor (Canada)
24-1968: Incident on board of Soviet nuclear submarine "K- 27", 5 crew members killed by radiation release
25-
26-1990: During refuelling, five cubic meters of radioactive water spilled at the Fessenheim nuclear power plant (France)
27-1993: Reactor shut-down due to breakdown of cooling system at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
28-1970: Collision of the US-nuclear submarine "Daniel Boone"
29-
30-
31-
June
1-1991: Failure of core cooling system at Belleville nuclear power plant (France)
2-1992: Total failure of centralised control system at the Smolensk nuclear power plant (Russia)
3-1980: Computer fault causes full-scale alert for US Military Strategic Command
4-1989: Fire in the cables of the cooling pumps at the Bohunice nuclear power plant (Slovakia)
5-1989:
6-1994: Fire at Beloyarsk nuclear power plant (Russia)
7-1960: Fire in a BOMARC-rocket in New Jersey causes plutonium release into the atmosphere (USA)
8-1992: Failure of cooling system at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
9-1985: Malfunction in the cooling system at Davis Blesse nuclear power plant (USA)
10-1985: Collision of a British nuclear submarine off the coast of Florida (USA)
11-1989: Spent fuel element dropped in the storage pool and damaged at Kruemmel nuclear power plant (Germany)
12-
13-
14-
15-1992: Technical failure at Sizewell nuclear power plant (UK)
16-1988: Technical failure at Zorita nuclear power plant (Spain)
17-1967: First Chinese hydrogen nuclear bomb test
18-1978: Release of two tons of radioactive steam from Brunsbuettel nuclear power plant (Germany)
19-1992: Leak in pipe conducting sea water to cooling system at Leningrad nuclear power plant (Russia)
20-1985 Collision of two trucks carrying nuclear bombs in Scotland (UK)
21-
22-
23-1986: Twelve people receive `slight' plutonium contamination while inspecting a store room at Tokaimura nuclear complex (Japan)
24-1992: Technical failure of control system at Leningrad nuclear power plant (Russia)
25-
26-1989: Fire and reactor damage in a Soviet submarine
27-1985: Explosion and steam leakage killed 14 workers at Balakovo nuclear power plant (Russia)
28-
29-1991: Power limited due to error between actual and indicated power at Pickering nuclear power plant(Canada).
30-1983: Total loss of coolant at Embalse nuclear power plant (Argentina)
July
1-1983: Technical failure causes release of Iodine-131 from Phillipsburg nuclear power plant (Germany)
2-1966: French nuclear testing in the South Pacific begins 3-1981: Fire at North Anna nuclear power plant (USA)
4-1961: Incident on board of Soviet nuclear submarine "K- 19", radiation release kills 9 crew members
5-
6-1959: US plane carrying nuclear weapons crashes and catches on fire
7-
8-
9-1991: Flaw in cooling system at Wurgassen nuclear power plant (Russia)
10-1991: Leakage of radiation at Bilibino nuclear power plant (Russia)
11-
12-1993: Failure of control system at Susquehanna nuclear power plant (USA)
13-
14-1992: Reactor shut-down due to failure of cooling system at Novovoronezh nuclear power plant (Russia)
15-
16-1945: First explosion of a nuclear bomb ("Trinity") in New Mexico (USA)
17-1991: Reactor shut-down due to break of control system at Sendai nuclear power plant (Japan)
18-1991: Steam leakage causes reactor shut-down at Paks nuclear power plant (Hungary)
19-
20-1992: Leakage of radiation due to breakdown of cooling system at Ignalina nuclear power plant (Lithuania)
21-
22-1992: Two workers contaminated at Dampierre nuclear power plant (France)
23-
24-1989: Refuelling accident at Isar nuclear power plant (Germany)
25-1946: US nuclear test "Baker" causes unexpected plutonium contamination on target vessels
26-1992: Temperature rise in storage pool at Gravelines nuclear power plant (France)
27-1956: US plane crashes into nuclear ammunition storage in the UK
28-1957: US plane loses two nuclear bombs in the Atlantic
29-
30-1986: Human error causes the nuclear warhead to be knocked off a Pershing rocket (Germany)
31-1993: Refuelling machine malfunctions at the Wylfa nuclear power plant (UK)
August
1-1983: An engineer receives a fatal radiation dose at a research reactor in Argentina
2-1987: Elevated radiation level after Soviet nuclear test
3-1983: Argentinean engineer dies from radiation dose received two days earlier
4-
5-1950: B-29 plane with nuclear weapons on board crashes; 19 people killed (USA)
6-1945: Nuclear bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima
7-
8-
9-1945: Nuclear bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki
10-1985: Explosion on board a Soviet nuclear submarine
11-1988: Damage detected at Atucha nuclear power plant (Argentina)
12-
13-
14-1989: Instrumentation and control failure at Grand Gulf nuclear power plant (USA)
15-1992:
16-1991: Eight control rods show delays in emergency shut- down insertion time at Millstone Point nuclear power plant (USA)
17-1991: Automatic shut-down due to technical problems at Sendai nuclear power plant (Japan)
18-1953: First explosion of Soviet hydrogen bomb
19-1986: Flooding at the Cattenom nuclear power plant (France)
20-1974 Incident at Beznau nuclear power plant (Switzerland)
21-1980: Accident on board Soviet nuclear submarine, believed to kill at least nine crew members
22-1992: Failure of shut-down system at Novovoronezh nuclear power plant (Russia)
23-
24-
25-1984: French freighter sinks in the English Channel with 375 tonnes of uraniumhexafluoride on board
26-1989: Technical failure at Ignalina nuclear power plant (Lithuania)
27-1990: Cable fire causes loss of control of the position of control rods at Chernobyl nuclear power plant (Ukraine)
28-1992: Fire in electro-generator at St.Alban nuclear power plant (France)
29-1949: First explosion of Soviet atomic bomb
30-1985: Fire in a barrel of radioactive waste at Karlsruhe nuclear complex (Germany)
31-1985: Fire at Fukushima nuclear power plant during routine shut-down (Japan)
September
1-1993: Fire at Balakovo nuclear power plant (Russia)
2-
3-1974: Release of radioactive water at Los Alamos nuclear weapons Laboratory (USA)
4-1988: Fire at Perry nuclear power plant (USA)
5-1988: Fire at Ignalina nuclear power plant (Lithuania)
6-1991: Incident and steam leak during refueling at Barsebeck nuclear power plant (Sweden)
7-
8-
9-1989: Control rod failure at Olkiluoto nuclear power plant (Finland)
10-
11-1957: 15 kgs of plutonium catch fire at Rocky Flats nuclear weapons complex (USA)
12-1992: Leakage of radioactive water at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
13-1987: 249 people are contaminated in Brazil, due to handling discarded nuclear medical equipment, four people subsequently die
14-1991: Leakage at Kozloduy nuclear power plant (Bulgaria)
15-1986: Fire on board a US plane carrying nuclear weapons
16-1990: Superphenix Fast Breeder Reactor is closed down due to technical failures (France)
17-1988: Nuclear weapons convoy road accident kills one person (UK)
18-1988: Technical failure at Stade nuclear power plant (Germany)
19-1984: Collision of a Soviet nuclear submarine
20-1977: US-nuclear submarine "Ray" hits the sea-bed, three crew members are injured
21-1989: Manual shut-down of WNP nuclear power plant (USA)
22-1980: Pump failure causes accidental release of radioactive water at La Hague reprocessing plant (France)
23-1969: Radioactive contamination of atmosphere during the unsuccessful launch of a Soviet spaceship.
24-1973: 35 workers at the Sellafield reprocessing plant are contaminated following a technical failure (UK)
25-1955: First Soviet underwater nuclear explosion near Novaya Zemlya (Arctic Ocean)
26-
27-1974: Soviet nuclear-capable destroyer sinks in the Black Sea
28-1990: Cables for reactor control and protection system supply overheat at Bohunice nuclear power plant (Slovakia)
29-1957: Thousands of square miles contaminated by accident at the Chelyabinsk nuclear complex (Russia)
30-1990: Failure of reactor core cooling system at Palisades nuclear power plant (USA)

October
1-1983: Technical failure and human error cause accident at Blayas nuclear power plant(France)
2-1968: Leakage at La Hague reprocessing plant (France) 3-1952: First UK nuclear test
4-1981: Release of 300-times the normal discharge level of Iodine-131 at Sellafield reprocessing plant (UK)
5-1966: Partial core meltdown at the Fermi fast breeder reactor (USA)
6-1986: Soviet nuclear submarine sinks off the coast of Bermuda
7-1984: Emergency shut-down of Paks nuclear power plant (Hungary)
8-1985: Accidental radioactive release into the sea from Hinkley Point nuclear power station (UK)
9-1991: Technical failure at Yugno-Ukrainskaya nuclear power plant (Ukraine)
10-1957: Three tonnes of uranium catch fire at the Windscale reprocessing plant (now Sellafield UK)
11-1957: US nuclear bomber crashes in Florida and catches fire
12-
13-1977: Sea water runs into the cooling circuit of Hunterston nuclear power plant (UK)
14-1953: Fall-out from British nuclear test "Totem" contaminates Aborigines in the Australian desert
15-1988: French officials carry out an experiment to test the effects of releasing 7000 Curies of radioactivity
16-1964: First Chinese nuclear test
17-1969: Fuel elements melt at St Laurent des Eaux nuclear power plant (France)
18-1991: Technical failure at Zaporozhe nuclear power plant (Ukraine)
19-1991: Offsite power failure at Smolensk nuclear power plant (Russia)
20-
21-1991: Fire on board "Sceptre" nuclear submarine in Scotland
22-1993: Instrumentation and Control failure at Saint Alban nuclear power plant (France)
23-1989: Failure of core cooling system at Dresdan nuclear power plant (USA)
24-
25-1991: Failure of shut-down system during refuelling at Novovoronezh nuclear power plant (Russia)
26-1991: Incident during refueling at Vogtle nuclear power plant (USA)
27-1991: Technical failure of shut-down system at Zaporozhe nuclear power plant (Ukraine)
28-
29-1991: Technical failure causes automatic shut-down at Kalinin nuclear power plant (Russia)
30-1991:
31-1986: US-nuclear submarine "Augusta" involved in collision
November
1-1992: Cracks in cooling system equipment at Brunsbuttel nuclear power plant (Germany)
2-1982: Nuclear missile transporter crashes killing one person and injuring two others (Germany)
3-1990: Failure of core cooling equipment at Doel nuclear power plant (Belgium)
4-1970: Explosion on board a nuclear-capable US-destroyer kills two sailors
5-1967: UK nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine `HMS Repulse' runs aground 30 minutes after its launch
6-
7-1967: Release of radioactivity at Grenoble nuclear power plant (France)
8-
9-1955: Core meltdown at EBR fast breeder reactor (USA)
10-
11-1988: Accident during refueling on board of Soviet nuclear powered ice-breaker "Lenin"
12-1993: London Convention bans the dumping of nuclear waste into the sea
13-1974: Karen Silkwood, a worker at a US nuclear plant, dies mysteriously on her way to hand important documents to a Trade Union Official and a journalist
14-1989: Breakdown of fuel rod control system at Oconee nuclear power plant (USA)
15-1989: Fire on board US-nuclear submarine "Finback"
16-1983: Sellafield reprocessing plant discharges highly radioactive wastes directly into the sea (UK)
17-
18-1991: Reactor shut-down due to technical failure at Balakovo nuclear power plant (Russia)
19-1980: US nuclear-missile almost launched during a drill exercise.
20-1989: Fire in turbine equipment at Kozloduy nuclear power plant (Bulgaria)
21-
22-
23-1991: Leak of 190,000 litres of water from cooling system, reactor shut-down at Oconee nuclear power plant (USA)
24-1989: Technical failure nearly causes core meltdown at Greifswald nuclear power plant (Germany)
25-1991: Failure of cooling system causes automatic reactor shut-down at Kursk nuclear power plant (Russia)
26-1958: B-47 plane catches fire, destroying one nuclear weapon (USA)
27-1991: Disfunction of automatic shut-down system at Bilibino nuclear power plant (Russia)
28-1991: Failure of control system causes reactor shut- down at Kursk nuclear power plant (Russia)
29-1982: US nuclear submarine collides with US-destroyer
30-1975: 1.5 million Curies released from Leningrad nuclear power plant (Russia)

December
1-1991: Technical failure at Beloyarsk nuclear power plant (Russia)
2-1949: US experiment "Green Run" contaminates communities up to 70 miles away from the Hanford nuclear weapons complex (USA)
3-1988: Explosion at the Burghfield Atomic Weapons Establishment (UK)
4-1990: 2 workers irradiated during refuelling at Blayais nuclear power plant (France)
5-1965: Plane crashes with nuclear bombs on board off the coast of Japan
6-1991: Failure of control system during refuelling causes reactor shut-down at Smolensk nuclear power plant (Russia)
7-1991: Failure of cooling system at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
8-1995: Fire due to leakage of sodium coolant from Monju fast breeder reactor, Japanese nuclear industry attempts to cover up full extent of accident, reactor shut-down
9-1986: Explosion at Surry nuclear power plant, four people killed (USA).
10-1991: Failure of turbo-generator causes reactor shut- down at Balakovo nuclear power plant (Russia)
11-1991: Human error causes failure of automatic reactor shut-down equipment at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
12-1952: World's first major nuclear reactor disaster, Chalk River experimental reactor (Canada)
13-1988: Four of the eight emergency installations discovered out of order at Brokdorf nuclear power plant (Germany)
14-1991: Technical failure causes automatic shut-down at Balakovo nuclear power plant (Russia)
15-1991: Technical failure at Kalinin nuclear power plant (Russia)
16-1991: Technical failure at Kola nuclear power plant (Russia)
17-1987: Severe incident at Biblis nuclear power plant (Germany)
18-1984: Fire at Kalinin nuclear power plant (Russia)
19-1980: Plutonium transport accident in the USA
20-1990: Control element discovered damaged at Novovoronezh nuclear power plant (Russia)
21-1991: Radiation leakage at Kolskaya nuclear power plant (Russia)
22-1987: Accidental release of 50 tonnes of water from Atucha nuclear power plant (Argentina)
23-1988: Two control rods jammed at Blayais nuclear power plant (France)
24-1991: Reactor shut-down due to technical failure at Kalinin nuclear power plant (Russia)
25-1992: Radioactive water leakage at Beloyarsk nuclear power plant (Russia)
26-
27-1991: Automatic shut-down Balakovo nuclear power plant (Russia)
28-1990: Incident and radiation leakage at Leningrad nuclear power plant (Russia)
29-
30-1988: Reactor shut-down due to failure of control equipment at Pilgrim nuclear power plant (USA)
31-1978: Fire and loss of reactor control, 8 workers irradiated at Beloyarsk nuclear power plant (Russia)



http://archive.greenpeace.org/comms/nukes/chernob/rep02.html