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US Army evaluates need for Nuclear Reactors
The US Army started considering using nuclear reactors to replace diesel generators that provided electricity to their radar stations in the Arctic. The Army wrote the guidelines for the project. Some of the more important criteria in the guidelines were:
All components able to be transported by air
Minimal on-site construction
Simplicity and reliability
Adaptable to the Arctic permafrost region -
Prototype was constructed
A prototype was built near Idaho Falls at the National Reactor Testing Station. The equipment was in a cylindrical steel reactor building. It was 38.5 feet wide and 48 feet tall. It was made of 1/4 inch thick plate steel. Access to the building was just an ordinary door through an enclosed exterior stairwell. There was also an emergency exit door that led to an exterior stairwell which led to the ground level. -
SL-1 becomes fully operational
SL-1 became operational on October 24, 1958. The plant was turned over to the Army for training and operating experience in December 1958. In February 1959, Combustion Engineering Incorporated took on the role of lead contractor and assigned a project manager. In the months leading up to the accident, the Project Manager spent approximately half time at the site. -
Rescue Attempt
9:17 PM In an attempt to rescue the crew inside, first responders took turns making trips inside at 65-second intervals to reduce risks to their own safety. Unfortunately, all three men died. Richard C. Legg was found impaled against the ceiling by a metal shield plug. John A. Byrnes was found slammed against a concrete wall. His ribs pierced his heart. Richard Leroy McKinley was found knocked unconscious and died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. -
Fatal Accident Occurs
9:01 PM Workers were preparing to restart SL-1 after a routine 11-day shutdown. Procedures required that Rod 9 be manually withdrawn a few inches to reconnect it to its drive mechanism. The rod was accidentally withdrawn too far, causing SL-1 to go critical instantly. The heat generated by the resulting enormous power excursion caused fuel inside the core to melt and explosively vaporize in only four milliseconds. -
Emergency Response
9:10 PM A team of six firefighters firefighters arrived on the scene. They expected another false alarm as there were false alarms earlier in the day. The building appeared normal but they did not get a response from the crew inside. When they entered the building, their handheld radiation detector jumped sharply above its maximum range. They fled the building to come up with a new rescue plan. -
Affect on the environment
The steam explosion stopped the fission process so the core did not continue to release fission products directly to the environment for a prolonged amount of time. (This is what happened at Chornobyl). The facility was located in a remote part of Idaho which limited public exposure. The immediate plume of radiation quickly dissipated and no harmful amounts reached nearby communities. -
Cleanup
The initial cleanup took 18 months. Cleanup consisted of burying radioactive materials nearby and adding additional dirt cover and plants. The contaminated debris was buried 8 to 14 feet deep and covered with another two feet of clean backfill. EPA conducted inspections up until 2003 to ensure the area was safe. Today the site is nearly indistinguishable from the rest of the surrounding desert. -
Safety Today
The design of nuclear reactors has changed since the SL-1 incident to emphasize safety by using very strict guidelines for operations and designs. Thanks to these safety protocols, SL-1 remains the first and only fatal nuclear power accident in the USA. -
Accident or Revenge?!
Rumor has it that Byrnes purposely raised the 84-pound control rod too high up off the core of the reactor knowing the place would blow. But why? According to a memo leaked by a high-ranking Atomic Energy Commission reactor safety expert, it was an act of self-sabotage and murderous rage against one of the other men as a result of a “lover’s triangle.” It was implied that Legg was sleeping with Byrnes’ wife. McKinley was just collateral damage. But there’s no real evidence to any of this.