NUCLEAR POWER

1942 December 2.
The first Self sustaining nuclear chain reaction was created at the University of Chicago
1945 August 6.
The first atomic bomb nicknamed little boy was dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. Three days later another bomb, Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan then surrenders, ending WWII
1951 December 20.
Arco, Idaho, an experimental reactor became the first nuclear powered electric power from nuclear energy, lighting four light bulbs.
1955 July 17.
Arco, Idaho, population 1,000, becomes the first town powered by a nuclear powerplant, the experimental boiling water reactor BORAX III.
1957 July 12.
The first power from a civilian nuclear unit is generated by the Sodium Reactor Experiment at Santa Susana, California.
1957 October 1.
The United Nations created the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA for short, to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
1960 August 19.
The third U.S. nuclear power plant, Yankee Rowe Nuclear Power Station, became a self-sustaining nuclear reactor.
1963 December 12.
The Oyster Creek nuclear power plant, became the first nuclear plant ordered as an economic alternative to a fossil-fuel plant.
1965 April 3.
The first nuclear reactor in space, SNAP-10A(SNAP stands for Systems for Nuclear Auxiliary Power), was launched.
1979 March 28.
The worst accident in U.S. commercial reactor history occurs at the Three Mile Island nuclear power station near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The accident is caused by a loss of coolant from the reactor core due to a combination of mechanical malfunction and human error. No one was accually injured, But the NRC still imposed a stricter reactor safety regulations and more rigid inspection procedures to improve the safety of reactor operations.
1980 March 26.
DOE initiates the Three Mile Island research and development program to develop technology for disassembling and de-fueling the damaged reactor. The program will continue for 10 years and make significant advances in developing new nuclear safety technology.
1986 April 26.
Operator error causes two explosions at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The reactor has an inadequate containment building, and large amounts of radiation escape. More than 30 people had died that day.
3-Mile Island Reactors, Pennsylvania

CHERNOBYL

“The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor that occurred on 26 April 1986 was the most serious accident ever to occur in the nuclear power industry,” - United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

Overview

On April 26, 1986 in Northern Ukraine, Soviet Russia’s nuclear complex reactor 4 exploded, causing what many consider to be the worst accident in the history of nuclear power.
Originally, the team of scientists at Chernobyl wanted to test the reactor’s ability to recover after an electricity shortage. Their test ended up causing a huge steam explosion due to the lack of safety procedures and major fundamental flaws in the system.
The explosions caused by the reactors had blown the 1000 ton roof off of the reactor, and the amount of radiation was said to be 400 times more than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. It had also released a dangerous quantity of radioactive substances, including iodine-131, cesium-137, plutonium and strontium-90, into the air over a period of 2 weeks.

Human Impacts

About 30 people died immediately, over 100,000 were killed, and numerous more were affected by the radiation as time progressed. After 4 months, 28 workers had died from the severe radiation poisoning while 106 had experienced symptoms of acute radiation sickness. Afterwards, about 200,000 cleanup workers had been exposed to doses of radiation ranging from 1 - 100 rem, a high amount considering the average dose a US citizen is exposed to is about 0.6 rem.
The exclusion zone of 10km assigned after the accident displaced 49,000 people. This zone was eventually extended to a wider 30km later on, displacing 68,000 more people. According to the Ukraine government, this zone of evacuation will not be lived on for 24,000 years to give time for the nuclear waste to become harmless.

Wildlife Impacts

Although wildlife was initially harmed greatly by the explosion, and is still affected by the radiation, some studies do show that the accident has increased wildlife in the area. The complete evacuation of humans near the reactor site has allowed plants and animals to inhabit the now human-free land and find ways to flourish. Some of these animals found include wolves, bison, and beavers.