Nuclear Accidents: Part 2

UK incident at Windscale Piles is another cautionary tale.

1957 is a significant year for nuclear accidents. Nuclear incidents occurred in two different locations: the Windscale Piles incident in the UK and the Kyshtym incident in Chelyabinsk, Soviet Union. In this post, I will cover the details of the Windscale Piles incident. Both incidents are notable since both occurred in the early days of the atomic weapons programs for each country, and the incidents are also remarkable because both were downplayed by their respective governments. While the Windscale Piles incident occurred in the UK, it is also notable because radiation exposure occurred to the public through the consumption of cow’s milk from cows that were downwind from the reactor fire.