Talk:List of military nuclear accidents

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

MILHIST This article is within the scope of the Military history WikiProject. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the project and see lists of open tasks and regional and topical task forces. To use this banner, please see the full instructions.
Start This article has been rated as Start-Class on the quality scale.

oh my, the paragraph about the leipzig accident links to a book written by the infamous David Irving. We should definitely replace this reference by a more serious one. --thoralf

---

Contents

[edit] Inaccurate information

From the incident occurring on June 7, 1960

a helium tank exploded

Someone mind explaining this one for me, especially considering helium is not a flammable substance...

Noun: explosion
(1) A violent release of energy (sometimes mechanical, nuclear, or chemical.)
(2) A bursting due to pressure
It doesn't have to be flammable to explode, and helium is often stored in pressurized containers.

[edit] Events with no release of radioactivity need not be posted

All the plane crashes and sub collisions and satellites and so forth need to be removed, and if no one else has anything to say about it in a week I'm going to do so. jtrainor

So, why do they need to be removed? --Carnildo 19:34, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Because in a lot of cases there's just stuff like submarines colliding or bombs falling/being lost where no release of radioactivity occured. Heck, there's a number of entries that specifically say no radiological contamination occured. Stuff just plain being lost and accidents that do not involve radiation release do not really warrant being included in the article. Apologies in advance for my crappy formatting, I'm not really good at editing stuff yet so all these entries are just copy/pasted from the main article.

Basically, I want to remove the following entries:

March 10, 1956 – Somewhere en route to a rendezvous with an United States Air Force tanker flying over the Mediterranean Sea, a B-47 from MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, disappeared without a trace. The plane was carrying two nuclear capsules at the time of the incident.

October, 1959 – One killed and 3 seriously burned in explosion and fire of prototype reactor for the USS Triton (SSRN/SSN-586) at the United States Navy's training center in West Milton, New York. The Navy stated, "The explosion was completely unrelated to the reactor or any of its principal auxiliary systems," but sources familiar with the operation claim that the high-pressure air flask that exploded was to feed a crucial reactor-problem backup system.

January 24, 1961 – A B-52 bomber suffered a fire caused by a major leak in a wing fuel cell and exploded in mid-air 12 miles (20 km) north of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Goldsboro, North Carolina. The incident released the bomber's two Mark 39 hydrogen bombs. Five crewmen parachuted to safety, but three died—two in the aircraft and one on landing. Three of the four arming devices on one of the bombs activated, causing it to carry out many of the steps needed to arm itself, such as the charging of the firing capacitors and critically the deployment of a 100-foot (30 m) diameter retardation parachute. The parachute allowed the bomb to hit the ground with little damage. The fourth arming device — the pilot's safe/arm switch — was not activated and so the weapon did not detonate. The other bomb plunged into a muddy field at around 700 miles per hour (300 m/s) and disintegrated. Its tail was discovered about 20 feet (7 m) down and much of the bomb recovered, including the tritium bottle and the plutonium. However, excavation was abandoned because of uncontrollable flooding by ground water, and most of the thermonuclear stage, containing uranium, was left in situ. It was estimated to lie at around 180 feet (55 m). The Air Force purchased the land and fenced it off to prevent its disturbance, and it is tested regularly for contamination, although none has so far been found. See: [Broken Arrow: Goldsboro, NC http://www.ibiblio.org/bomb/].

April 10, 1963 – The nuclear submarine USS Thresher (SSN-593) sinks east of Boston, Massachusetts, with 129 men onboard. A year earlier, just before the end of its refit interval, the boat had been abused in a munitions test where it literally tried to approach explosions as closely as possible. The boat was refitted afterward, and sank during its sea trials. In a show of poor planning, the sea trial was conducted where the bottom was below the hull's crush depth. In the yard, destructive tests of a few silver-soldered pipe connections had failed. At the time, nondestructive testing was unknown, and no test records were available. The investigators believed that the sinking was caused by the failure of a major through-hull silver-soldered connection, such as a tertiary-loop cooling inlet, and that the reactor and its design were not responsible. The reactor was not recovered.

December 5, 1964 – A Minuteman 1B missile was on strategic alert at Launch Facility (LF) L-02, Ellsworth AFB, South Dakota. Two airmen were dispatched to the LF to repair inner zone (IZ) security system. In the midst of their checkout of the IZ system, one retrorocket in the spacer below the Reentry Vehicle (RV) fired, causing the RV/nuclear warhead to fall about 75 feet (23 m) to the floor of the silo. When the RV/nuclear warhead struck the bottom of the silo, the arming and fusing/altitude control subsystem containing the batteries was torn loose, thus removing all sources of power from the RV/nuclear warhead. The RV structure received considerable damage. All safety devices operated properly in that they did not sense the proper sequence of events to allow arming the warhead. There was no detonation or radioactive contamination.

December 5, 1965 – An A-4E Skyhawk airplane with one B43_nuclear_bomb onboard falls off the USS Ticonderoga into 16,200 feet (4.9 km) of water off the coast of Japan. The ship was traveling from Vietnam to Yokosuka, Japan. The plane, pilot, and weapon are never recovered. There is dispute over exactly where the incident took place—the US Defense Department originally stated it took place 500 miles (800 km) off the coast of Japan, but US Navy documents later show it happened about 80 miles (130 km) from the Ryukyu Islands and 200 miles (320 km) from Okinawa. [18]

April 11, 1968 – A Soviet Golf-class submarine sinks in about 16,000 ft (4900 m) of water, approximately 750 miles (1200 km) northwest of Hawaii's Oahu island. 80 sailors are killed in the incident. Several nuclear torpedoes and three nuclear ballistic missiles were onboard. (Parts of this vessel were later raised by the CIA and Howard Hughes' Glomar Explorer in 1974.) [19]

May 21, 1968 – The USS Scorpion (SSN-589), a nuclear-powered attack submarine carrying two Mark 45 ASTOR torpedoes with nuclear warheads, is lost with 99 sailors onboard. The nuclear material has not been recovered. The submarine has been photographed at the ocean bottom, and the U.S. Navy periodically monitors the location for radioactivity. Supposedly there has been no plutonium leakage to date.

May 16, 1969 – In San Francisco, California, the nuclear submarine USS Guitarro sinks while being fitted because a forward compartment flooded.

November 15 or 16, 1969 – The USS Gato (SSN-615) reportedly collides with a Soviet submarine in the White Sea. A former crewmember later states that the Gato was struck in the protective plating around the vessel's reactor. No serious damage resulted, although the ship went on alert and prepared to arm a nuclear-tipped anti-submarine missile and nuclear torpedoes. [22]

June 20, 1970 – In the northern Pacific Ocean, a Soviet Echo-class submarine collides with the USS Tautog after making a 180° crazy Ivan maneuver. American sailors believe the ship sank after the incident, but Russian Navy officers state in 1992 that the ship did not sink. [24]

1977 – The Soviet K-171 accidentally releases a nuclear warhead while off the coast of Kamchatka. After a frantic search involving dozens of ships and aircraft, the warhead is recovered. [26]

November 2, 1981 – At the US Submarine Pens in Scotland, a fully armed Poseidon missile is accidentally dropped 17 feet (5 m) from a crane while being transferred from a submarine to its tender.

January 3, 1983 – The Russian Kosmos-1402 nuclear-powered spy satellite burns up over the South Atlantic.

October 3, 1986 – 480 miles (770 km) east of Bermuda, a Soviet Yankee I-class submarine experienced an explosion in one of its nuclear missile tubes and at least three crew members were killed. Thirty-four nuclear missiles and two reactors were on board. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev privately communicated news of the disaster to U.S. President Ronald Reagan before publicly acknowledging the incident on October 4. Two days later, on October 6, the ship sank in the Atlantic Ocean while under tow in 18,000 feet (5.5 km) of water. [31]

April 7, 1989 – The Soviet Komsomolets attack submarine catches fire about 300 miles (480 km) off the coast of Norway. 27 crew members escape, but the remaining 42 do not survive as the ship sinks. Two nuclear-armed torpedoes were on-board along with the vessel's nuclear reactor. [33]

February 11, 1992 – The Commonwealth of Independent States Sierra-class attack submarine K-239 (Barracuda) collides with the USS Baton Rouge (SSN-689) in the Barents Sea. No apparent damage results, although the incident causes the Russians to complain that the Baton Rouge was inside CIS territorial waters. American naval officers maintain that the ship was in international waters at the time. [35]

March 20, 1993 – The American submarine USS Grayling (SSN-646) collides with the Novomoskovsk, a Russian Delta III-class submarine, in the Barents Sea, 105 nautical miles (120 miles, 195 km) north of the Kola Peninsula. [36]

November 17, 1996 – The Russian probe Mars 96 fails during launch and crashes back to Earth with an RTG on board. The location of the crash is disputed - either in the Pacific Ocean or in the mountains of Chile.

That's about it. How do I do that signature thing with my username like you do? jtrainor

It seems to me that the Mars-96 and Kosmos-1402 satellite incidents should be kept, since they both resulted in nuclear contamination somewhere. There's also a similar incident where a Soviet spy satellite crashed into Canada, contaminating a few hundred square miles of forest, that I don't see listed.
As for the signature, it's simply a matter of typing "~~~~" at the end of your message. --Carnildo 18:03, 27 September 2005 (UTC)
Actually, at least in the Kosmos-1402 case, the satellite burned up completely-- the radioactive material was reduced to a small amount of vapor at high altitude. Basically not significant. The Mars-96 one can stay, though. Thanks for the tip. Jtrainor 18:20, 27 September 2005 (UTC)
BTW, I propose applying the same guidelines being used in the civilian nuclear accidents one, wiht a minor word switch at one spot:
In listing military nuclear accidents, the following criteria should be followed:
1. There must be well-attested and substantial health damage, property damage or contamination.
2. The damage must be related directly to radioactive material, not merely (for example) at a nuclear power plant.
3. To qualify as "military", the nuclear operation/material must be principally for non-civilian purposes.

This article definitely need a lot of work, perhaps more than the civilian one did. I'll be gradually working my way through this one, much as I did there, adding references, editing and removing out-of-scope entries.--DocS 04:21, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

Might it be worth splitting out a seperate list for nuclear weapons losses? Whilst these aren't actually dangerous accidents by the standards of this list, esp. when it is known no nuclear material was released, "incidences where the military lost a bomb" are reasonably interesting in and of their own right. (Cases such as, say, the first one you mention above, with the B-47) Shimgray | talk | 14:42, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] SL-1

Why is there a picture of SL-1, but NO mention of it in the article? Bayerischermann 01:41, 6 November 2005 (UTC)

  • Because nobody added it. Why didn't you? --Fastfission 18:20, 26 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Minor incidents, UK

In case anyone wants to put together a list of minor incidents in the future, [1] is a list of UK nuclear incidents known to the MoD; about twenty, mostly "someone dropped a warhead six inches whilst handling it" or "lorry transporting nuclear weapons rear-ends car, paint scratched". None are significant enough, at a quick look, to be on this list; they explicitly note "There has never been a Category 2 accident involving a British nuclear weapon." [2] notes none have ever been lost. Shimgray | talk | 14:29, 13 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] contradictory one

The bomb did not contain the core needed for a nuclear explosion, but upon impact the conventional explosives detonated, making a crater 25 feet (7.6 m) wide and 12 feet (3.7 m) deep, and killing a nearby cow. The blast released some plutonium and contaminated the nearby area.

If there was no core, where'd the plutonium come from? It looks to me like someone has gone through a lot of these items and, without citations of course, added a claim that the core wasn't present that was needed for the nuclear explosion. Tempshill 23:15, 6 March 2006 (UTC)

  • I took a look at it -- seems that only non-reputable sources say anything about plutonium contamination, though all agree the core wasn't aboard. This one specifically says no contamination was found, and I'm more inclined to go with that since the source is generally pretty good and that makes more sense. --Fastfission 02:50, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

I've belatedly gotten around to removing a whole bunch of the garbage entries. Jtrainor 19:04, 31 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Leipzig L-IV atomic pile accident

Can someone confirm that Werner Heisenberg and Robert Dopel had an explosion in the Leipzig L-IV atomic pile, which resulted in a major fire? David Irving wrote about it in [3] but is there any other source available? David Irving was indeed sentenced to three years imprisonment in Austria for denying the Holocaust.--Enr-v 17:08, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] B-36B 44-92075

Curious why B-36B 44-92075 is not in this list. Pete.Hurd 02:49, 26 September 2006 (UTC)

Because it was not a nuclear accident. This article is not a list of broken arrows. It's a list of military nuclear accidents that actually caused significant damage attributable to nuclear material. --76.224.88.36 20:17, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] 1950s events that don't belong in the article

The event of February 13, 1950, fails the first two points of the "scope of this article" test. Even the link it gives as a citation calls the event a "high explosive detonation with no spread of fissile material".

The event of April 11, 1950, fails the first two points of the "scope of this article" test. Even the link it gives as a citation calls the event an "accident resulting in fatalities not involving fissile material". It was a plane crash in which a disassembled nuclear weapon was on board, which was later recovered.

The event of November 10, 1950, fails the first two points of the "scope of this article" test. The description given is also totally wrong. The weapon was disassembled, and contained only high explosive. And indeed it did explode. There was no DU, there was no uranium at all, only 2,200 kg of chemical charge. The story that the device contained 100 lbs of DU was invented by Greenpeace. Why would there be DU in a nuclear bomb, when it's unsuitable for fission? You will find no US or Canadian government documents that claim any radioactive contamination from this event.

The event of November 29, 1955, fails all three points of the "scope of this article" test. There was no substantial contamination, health or property damage, and the reactor was not "principally for military purposes".

The event of July 27, 1956, fails the first two points of the "scope of this article" test. The event is noteworthy specifically because a nuclear accident was avoided, but that doesn't mean it belongs in this article.

The event of January 31, 1958, fails the first point of the "scope of this article" test. There was no "substantial health damage, property damage or contamination." Contamination of the wreckage itself was high, but that of the surrounding area was low. There were no casualties attributable to nuclear weapons. The description given is also partially wrong. There is no evidence that this event occurred in Morocco, and that is purely a guess on the part of CDI. The military has never identified the location of this event.

The event of February 5, 1958, fails the first two points of the "scope of this article" test. The weapon was disassembled and contained no nuclear material, and never had since its construction.

The event of March 11, 1958, fails the first two points of the "scope of this article" test. The weapon was disassembled, and contained only high explosive. And indeed it did explode. The notion that "radioactive substances were flung across the area" is pure fiction. Six civilians were injured, their house was destroyed, but there was no radioactive exposure.

The event of June 16, 1958, fails the third point of the "scope of this article" test. ORNL was not a military facility in 1958, but rather under the Atomic Energy Commission.

The event of December 30, 1958, fails the third point of the "scope of this article" test. LANL was not a military facility in 1958, but rather under the Atomic Energy Commission.

The even of November 20, 1959, fails all three points of the "scope of this article" test. There was no substantial contamination, health or property damage, and ORNL was not a military facility in 1959. No National Laboratory has been run by the military since the Manhattan Project ended.

--76.224.88.36 20:15, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Format proposal

I would like to propose a format change for the entries. I recently reformatted the List of civilian nuclear accidents and I think it works well. Proposed format:

month day, year - location - type of accident
  • Description of the accident and related information. Description of the significant health effects, property damage or contamination that occurred. Description of response to the accident.

Instead of a wall of text the reader sees discreet entries with the most pertinent information presented up front. I am making a identical proposal for the List of civilian radiation accidents since these articles are all on a very similar subject. Nailedtooth 00:28, 5 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lost hydrogen bomb May 22, 1957 in Albuquerque, NM

Just wondering why this isn't included. One can easily find numerous articles about this incident where a B-36 bomber lost it's cargo, a 10 megaton Mark 17, while being on landing approach to Kirtland AF base just about 4 miles south of Kirtland AF base. Fortunately only the conventional explosives detonated when the bomb hit the ground and only part of Plutonium load was spread. Still I think this incident definitely should be listed here. Hadoriel 20:17, 25 October 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Holocaust denial website

Can someone find a more NPOV source, rather than quoting a Holocaust denial website?--Lastexpofan (talk) 23:32, 18 January 2008 (UTC)