The Windscale Fire

The Windscale Fire

In 1999, the BBC produced a 30 minute episode of "Disaster" (Series 3) entitled "The Windscale Fire" and this has now been released on DVD. It is an educational documentary which discusses the devastating fire discovered in Britain's first nuclear reactor at Windscale in 1957. [ [http://www.bbcactive.com/BroadCastLearning/asp/catalogue/productdetail.asp?productcode=21517 Disaster - Series 3] ] The introduction to the DVD states:

Forty years ago, a catastrophic fire in a British reactor, left a legacy of damage and fallout which is still being dealt with today. The cleanup will cost over a hundred million pounds. At the back of the reactor, ruptured fuel cartridges containing uranium are still jammed in the fire damaged core, awaiting safe removal. The fire spread fallout over hundreds of miles. Some of the most dangerous contamination was kept secret, and its effects only came to light years later. Official estimates are that up to a hundred people may have died from the contamination. [BBC. Disaster Series 3. "Episode 6 - The Windscale Fire".]

References

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7030281.stm Windscale: A nuclear disaster]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Windscale fire — The Windscale Piles (centre and right) in 1985. The Windscale fire of 10 October 1957 was the worst nuclear accident in Great Britain s history, ranked in severity at level 5 on the 7 point International Nuclear Event Scale.[1] The two piles had… …   Wikipedia

  • Windscale-Brand — Am 10. Oktober 1957 kam es in einem britischen Kernreaktor in Windscale (heute Sellafield, Großbritannien) zu einem Brand. Dieser setzte eine Wolke mit erheblichen Mengen radioaktiven Materials frei, die sich über Großbritannien und über das… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Windscale — ▪ nuclear power plant, Cumbria, United Kingdom       nuclear reactor facility and plutonium production plant in the county of Cumberland (now part of Cumbria), in northwestern England, that in 1957 was the site of the United Kingdom s most… …   Universalium

  • Nuclear power in the United Kingdom — United Kingdom energy related articles Government energy policy Energy use and conservation Nuclear power Solar power Wind power Energy efficiency in …   Wikipedia

  • Nuclear weapons and the United Kingdom — United Kingdom Nuclear program start date 10 April 1940 First nuclear weapon test 2 October 1952 First fusion weapon test …   Wikipedia

  • 1957 in the United Kingdom — Events from the year 1957 in the United Kingdom.Incumbents* Monarch HM Queen Elizabeth II * Prime Minister Anthony Eden and Harold Macmillan, Conservative PartyEvents* 9 January resignation of Anthony Eden as Prime Minister due to ill health.… …   Wikipedia

  • Harold Macmillan — The Right Honourable The Earl of Stockton OM PC FRS Prime Minister of the United Kingdom In office …   Wikipedia

  • Wigner effect — The Wigner effect (named for its discoverer, E. P. Wigner)[1], also known as the discomposition effect, is the displacement of atoms in a solid caused by neutron radiation. Any solid can be affected by the Wigner effect, but the effect is of most …   Wikipedia

  • Sellafield — Aerial view of the site …   Wikipedia

  • Nuclear meltdown — Three of the reactors at Fukushima I overheated, causing core meltdowns. This was compounded by hydrogen gas explosions and the venting of contaminated steam which released large amounts of radioactive material into the air.[1] …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”