Industry proponents argue modern nuclear installations are not likely to see catastrophic events like Three Mile Island or Chernobyl because technology has improved. They often point to these accidents as unique and criticize those who raise them as fear mongers. The impact of accidental releases of radiation into the environment is still being felt by people around the world, and it is time the truth is told.
In a secret health and safety report, the chief nuclear inspector admits Britain's watchdog force is short of experienced staff by Terry Macalister and Rob Edwards, The Observer (June 21, 2009). The scale of safety problems inside Britain's nuclear power stations has been revealed in a secret report obtained by the Observer under the Freedom of Information Act. It shows more than 1,750 leaks, breakdowns or other "events" over the past seven years and raises serious questions about the dangers of expanding the nuclear industry with a new generation of atomic plants. See also Sellafield: the most hazardous place in Europe.
Consequences of the Chernobyl Disaster for Belarus and Government Actions to Mitigate Them from the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the USA. “This disaster still effects negatively all spheres of human activity, and no one could be sure that the most adverse consequences for human health are far behind”.
The accident at the nuclear power plant at Three Mile Island at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania occurred 30 years ago on March 28, 1979. CBC created a gripping documentary reconstruction of the events of the accident. You can order transcripts or a cassette tape of the series called Counting the Costs from the CBC. (the link to order transcripts is dead, could not find new one)
Counting the Costs
(1986 and 1998)
$32.00, 4-pt
Three Mile Island, I - Listen on YouTube
This documentary reconstruction follows events that began in the pre- dawn hours of March 28, 1979, and eventually added $130-billion to US electric bills.
Three Mile Island, II - Listen on YouTube
The accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant is reconstructed from eyewitness accounts, 50,000 pages of testimony and five official inquiries.
From Chalk River to Chernobyl - Listen on YouTube
The fiery destruction of the Soviet atomic reactor at Chernobyl shows how wide-spread the effects can be, from a serious nuclear accident. What's next?
Darlington to Decommissioning - Listen on YouTube
As reactors worldwide are closing down, Ontario Hydro announces in August 1997 that it's taking 7 of its 21 reactors out of service indefinitely. Who will pay? Bonus tape: The Chernobyl accident.
For More Information on the Health effects of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, visit our
Nuclear Power & Health Issues page.
Reactor Accidents at Chalk River. Back in the fifties, there were two rather serious nuclear reactor accidents at Chalk River, Ontario. Bjarnie Hannibal Paulson was a corporal in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and an instructor in Atomic Warfare and Radioactive Decontamination stationed at St-Jean, Quebec. In 1958 he was transferred to Camp Petawawa to assist in the clean-up at Chalk River following the NRU accident of the same year. Between 1964 and 1979, he had over 40 operations for cancer. Mr. Paulson is one of Canada’s Atomic Veterans.
The Chernobyl disaster in the Ukraine occurred on April 26, 1986. CBC has produced a two part Ideas program about the exclusion zone around the site of the Chernobyl accident called The Zone of Absolute Exclusion."Philip Coulter goes into the Zone and finds tales of individual bravery and recklessness, lives changed forever, and communities shattered. "
22 years on, Welsh farms still under Chernobyl shadow by Darren Devine, Western Mail, Apr 26, 2008. More than two decades after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, Welsh farmers, whose sheep were contaminated by radioactive fallout, live with financial uncertainty and restrictions on their ability to sell their product.
Cracking the Corporate Media's Iron Curtain Around Death at Three Mile Island. This article questions the assertion that there were no deaths resulting from the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster.