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List of Nuclear Power Plants Accidents
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99 accidents at nuclear power plants from 1952 to 2009 (defined as incidents that either resulted in the loss of human life or more than US$50,000 of property damage, the amount the US federal government uses to define major energy accidents that must be reported), totaling US$20.5 billion in property damages. Fifty-seven accidents have occurred since the Chernobyl disaster, and almost two-thirds (56 out of 99) of all nuclear-related accidents have occurred in the USA. There have been comparatively few fatalities associated with nuclear power plant accidents.
| Date | Location | Description | Deaths | I-131 Release in 1,000 Ci | Cost (in millions 2006 $US) | INES level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 3, 1961 | Idaho Falls, Idaho, US | Explosion at National Reactor Testing Station | 3 | 0.08 | 22 | |
| February 22, 1977 | Jaslovské Bohunice, Czechoslovakia | Severe corrosion of reactor and release of radioactivity into the plant area, necessitating total decommission | 0 | 1,700 | 4 | |
| March 28, 1979 | Middletown, Pennsylvania, US | Loss of coolant and partial core meltdown, see Three Mile Island accident and Three Mile Island accident health effects | 0 | 0.017 | 2,400 | 5 |
| September 15, 1984 | Athens, Alabama, US | Safety violations, operator error, and design problems force six year outage at Browns Ferry Unit 2 | 0 | 110 | ||
| March 9, 1985 | Athens, Alabama, US | Instrumentation systems malfunction during startup, which led to suspension of operations at all three Browns Ferry Units | 0 | 1,830 | ||
| April 11, 1986 | Plymouth, Massachusetts, US | Recurring equipment problems force emergency shutdown of Boston Edison’s Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant | 0 | 1,001 | ||
| April 26, 1986 | Pripyat, Ukraine | Steam explosion and meltdown (see Chernobyl disaster) necessitating the evacuation of 300,000 people from Kiev and dispersing radioactive material across Europe (see Chernobyl disaster effects) | 53 | 7000 | 6,700 | 7 |
| May 4, 1986 | Hamm-Uentrop, Germany | Experimental THTR-300 reactor releases small amounts of fission products (0.1 GBq Co-60, Cs-137, Pa-233) to surrounding area | 0 | 0 | 267 | |
| March 31, 1987 | Delta, Pennsylvania, US | Peach Bottom units 2 and 3 shutdown due to cooling malfunctions and unexplained equipment problems | 0 | 400 | ||
| December 19, 1987 | Lycoming, New York, US | Malfunctions force Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation to shut down Nine Mile Point Unit 1 | 0 | 150 | ||
| March 17, 1989 | Lusby, Maryland, US | Inspections at Calvert Cliff Units 1 and 2 reveal cracks at pressurized heater sleeves, forcing extended shutdowns | 0 | 120 | ||
| November 24, 1989 | Greifswald, East Germany | Electrical error causes fire in the main trough that destroys control lines and five main coolant pumps | 0 | 443 | ||
| February 20, 1996 | Waterford, Connecticut, US | Leaking valve forces shutdown Millstone Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2, multiple equipment failures found | 0 | 254 | ||
| September 2, 1996 | Crystal River, Florida, US | Balance-of-plant equipment malfunction forces shutdown and extensive repairs at Crystal River Unit 3 | 0 | 384 | ||
| September 30, 1999 | Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan | Workers at the Tokaimura uranium processing facility try to save time by mixing uranium in buckets, killing two and exposing one more to radiation levels above permissible limits | 2 | 54 | 4 | |
| February 16, 2002 | Oak Harbor, Ohio, US | Severe corrosion of control rod forces 24-month outage of Davis-Besse reactor | 0 | 143 | 3 | |
| August 9, 2004 | Fukui Prefecture, Japan | Steam explosion at Mihama Nuclear Power Plant kills 5 workers and injures dozens more | 5 | 9 | 1 |
