Great Sequence of Video Documentaries on Nuclear Disasters

Click For Summary
SUMMARY

Youtuber Kyle Hill has produced a comprehensive series of videos detailing significant nuclear disasters, including the THERAC-25 Medical Device disaster, the Demon Core incident, and the Goiania Accident. These cases exemplify the negligent handling of nuclear materials, highlighting the dangers associated with radiation exposure. The discussion also references the Trinity Incident and the Troy Incident, which further illustrate the consequences of nuclear testing and fallout. These documentaries serve as educational resources for understanding the historical context and safety protocols related to nuclear energy and materials.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of nuclear radiation types (gamma and neutron radiation)
  • Familiarity with the THERAC-25 Medical Device and its implications
  • Knowledge of criticality accidents and their historical significance
  • Awareness of radiation protection protocols and mishandling consequences
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the THERAC-25 Medical Device disaster in detail
  • Study the principles of criticality safety in nuclear physics
  • Explore the Goiania Accident and its impact on public health policies
  • Investigate the effects of nuclear fallout from the Trinity and Troy Incidents
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for nuclear safety professionals, radiation protection specialists, historians of science, and anyone interested in the implications of nuclear technology and its mishandling.

jedishrfu
Mentor
Insights Author
Messages
15,611
Reaction score
10,388
Youtuber Kyle Hill has created a great sequence of videos on nuclear disasters around the world:



They include:
- THERAC-25 Medical Device disaster where cancer outpatients received doses many times greater than what the doctors prescribed
- The Demon Core: fissile material that scientists used to determine the point of criticality
- The Goiania Accident: how radioactive Cesium was accidentally dispersed throughout a Brazilian community
 
Reply
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: OCR, russ_watters and hutchphd
Physics news on Phys.org
Calling @Astronuc, you might like to check these out though I'm sure you most likely know the stories from industry sources.
 
jedishrfu said:
- THERAC-25 Medical Device disaster where cancer outpatients received doses many times greater than what the doctors prescribed
- The Demon Core: fissile material that scientists used to determine the point of criticality
- The Goiania Accident: how radioactive Cesium was accidentally dispersed throughout a Brazilian community
These are some classic examples of negligent mishandling nuclear material. The incidents involving Harry Daghlian and Louis Slotin. Slotin was particularly reckless given the Daghlian incident preceded his incident. Both of them would have received a substantial does of gamma radiation (about 7 or 8 gammas, 1 or 2 gammas from beta decay products and about 1 gamma from radiative capture in Pu from each fission event) in addition to the neutron radiation. Based on their positions near the cores, they would have received a faction of the total radiation emanating from the core, probably less than 20%. Slotin received much more though.

I'm familiar with the other events, which are sometimes discussed in courses on radiation protection and handling (or mishandling) of nuclear material.
 
Last edited:
I learned about the Trinity Incident where cornfields in Indiana picked up nuclear fallout from the Trinity test. Kodak used paper made from their corn husks and had a quality problem with their Xray film having exposure blotches due to being wrapped in the paper.

Since Trinity was hush-hush top secret, they had trouble finding out about why they had Ce-141 made in the fires of a nuclear blast in their paper.

https://interestingengineering.com/science/when-kodak-accidentally-discovered-an-a-bomb-testing

The one I didn't know about was the Troy Incident where a thunderstorm going through the Capital District ie Albany Schenectady and Troy NY had dropped a lot of fallout from a 1953 nuclear test. An RPI (Troy) student noticed it on his geiger counter while doing some labwork.

https://www.timesunion.com/local/article/RPI-scientist-found-atom-bomb-fallout-553543.php