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WHKMLA, Students' Papers, 15th Wave Index Page
Country | Date | Location | Fatalities | Costs (in millions 2006 USD) |
East Germany | 07 Dec 1975 | Greifswald | 0 |
East Germany | 24 Nov 1989 | Greifswald | 0 | 443 |
West Germany | 4 May 1986 | Hamm-Uentrop | 0 | 267 |
West Germany | 17 Dec 1987 | Biblis | 0 | 13 |
Date | Description | Cost (in million 2006 USD) |
17 Oct 1969 | 50 kg of uranium dioxide melted inside of the A1 nuclear reactor of Saint-Laurent-des-Eaux, during a refueling operation | unknown |
25 Jul 1979 | Radioactive fluids escape into drains designed for ordinary waste, seeping into the local watershed at the Saclay BL3 Reactor | 5 |
13 Mar 1980 | A malfunctioning cooling system fuses fuel elements together at the Saint Laurent A2 reactor, ruining the fuel assembly and forcing an extended shutdown | 22 |
14 Apr 1984 | Electrical cables fail at the command center of the Bugey Nuclear Power Plant and force a complete shutdown of one reactor | 2 |
22 May 1986 | A reprocessing plant at Le Hague malfunctions and exposes workers to unsafe levels of radiation and forces five to be hospitalized | 5 |
12 Apr 1987 | Tricastin fast breeder reactor leaks coolant, sodium and uranium hexachloride, injuring seven workers and contaminating water supplies | 50 |
27 Dec 1999 | An unexpectedly strong storm floods the Blayais Nuclear Power Plant, forcing an emergency shutdown after injection pumps and containment safety systems fail from water damage | 55 |
21 Jan 2002 | Control systems and safety valves fail after improper installation of condensers, forcing a two-month shutdown. (Manche, France) | 102 |
16 May 2004 | Sub-standard electrical cables at the Cattenom-2 nuclear reactor cause a fire in an electricity funnel, damaging safety systems | 12 |
13 Jul 2008 | Dozens of liters of wastewater contaminated with uranium are accidentally poured on the ground and runoff into a nearby river. (Tricastin, France) | 7 |
9 Aug 2009 | Assembly system fails to properly eject spent fuel rods from the Gravelines Nuclear Power Plant, causing the fuel rods to jam and the defueling operation to be suspended | 2 |
Date | Location | Results of any enquiry and subsequent action |
April 1973 | Near the Royal Naval Armament Depot (RNAD) Coulport. | No specific record is now available of any enquiry or follow-up action. The weapons were not damaged. |
February 1974 | Off Malta. | Investigation of the incident concluded that the torpedo handling equipment was incorrectly rigged and modifications were made to the equipment as a result. |
1974 | At sea | No specific record is now available of any enquiry or follow-up action. But see below on the similar occurrence at serial 5. There was no damage to missiles or warheads. |
August 1977 | RNAD Coulport | After and enquiry, improvements in relevant documentation, test procedures, inspection and working practices were implemented. There was no damage to missiles or warheads |
1981 | At sea | An enquiry determined that the incident was due to procedural error. A modification to the design of the missile tube pressurisation was made to prevent a recurrence of the problem. There was no damage to missiles or warheads |
August 1983 | M8 near Glasgow | No blame was apportioned to the load carrier driver. No information is now available on any other action that may have been taken in response to this occurrence. There was no damage to warheads. |
January 1987 | Wiltshire | A Board of Inquiry found that all relevant orders, instructions and operating procedures were compiled with and all personnel concerned showed adequate care. No person was held blameworthy. |
Date | Location | Results of any enquiry and subsequent action |
1960 | Lincolnshire | No specific record is now available of any enquiry or follow-up action. There was no damage to any nuclear weapon. |
1963 | RAF base, Lincolnshire | No specific record is now available of any enquiry or follow-up action. There was no damage to any nuclear weapon. |
1963 | Lincolnshire/South Yorkshire | No specific record is now available of any enquiry or follow-up action. There was no damage to any nuclear weapon. |
March 1974 | Cyprus | Modification was necessary to the pre-use check procedure of the monitor. |
November 1974 | Base in Germany | No specific record is now available of any enquiry or follow-up action. There was no damage to any nuclear weapon. |
1982 | at sea | In the light of these occurrences, CINCFLEET made a number of recommendations regarding weapon transfers. |
May 1984 | Base in Germany | As a result of this occurrence, the toolbox was removed from all WE177 weapon containers. |
June 1985 | Near Glasgow | No specific record is now available of any enquiry or follow-up action. There was no damage to any nuclear weapon. |
Dec. 1987 | Royal Navy Armament Depot Coulport | After an enquiry, substantial changes in management responsibilities, training, command and control and consultation with the Royal Navy were implemented. There was no damage to any nuclear weapon. |
Aug. 1988 | off Hong Kong | No specific record is now available of any enquiry or follow-up action. There was no damage to any nuclear weapon. |
Sept. 1988 | Somerset | No specific record is now available of any enquiry or follow-up action. There was no damage to any nuclear weapon. |
Dec. 1991 | M 25 in Hertfordshire | No specific record is now available of any enquiry or follow-up action. There was no damage to any nuclear weapon. |