This is a listing of radiation accidents and other radiological events resulting in at least 4 acute fatalities. It is a subset of the Database of Radiological Incidents and Related Events. Links in the table are to more detailed incident summaries.
The 16 events below include:
Notes on table:
date | location/link to entry | type of accident/event | code | highest dose (rem) | deaths | injuries | public | source | release |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
06 Aug 1945 | Hiroshima, Japan | combat use of nuclear weapon | NW | (~80,000--N) | 45,000 (130,000) | 60,000? (86,000) | x | * NW | |
09 Aug 1945 | Nagasaki, Japan | combat use of nuclear weapon | NW | (~200,000--N) | 20,000 (65,000) | 50,000? (75,000) | x | * NW | |
04 Jul 1961 | K-19 submarine, North Atlantic | reactor accident | A-NR | 6,000 | 8 | 31 | |||
21 Mar 1962 - Aug 1962 | Mexico City, Mexico | lost radiography source | A-os | 5,200 | 4 | 1 | x | Co-60 | |
24 May 1968 | K-27 submarine, Barents Sea | naval reactor accident | A-NR | ? | 9 | 83 | |||
1974 - 1976 | Columbus, Ohio, USA | radiotherapy accident | A-mr | L | 10 | 88 | m | Co-60 | |
1980 | Houston, Texas, USA | radiotherapy accident | A-mr | L? | 7 | ? | m | Y-90 | |
05 Oct 1982 | Baku, Azerbaidjan, USSR | lost source | A-os | ? | 5 | 13 | Cs-137 | ||
19 Mar 1984 | Casablanca, Morocco | lost radiography source | A-os | ? | 8 | 3 | x | Ir-192 | |
10 Aug 1985 | K-431 submarine, Chazhma Bay, Vladivostok, Russia, USSR | reactor accident during refueling | A-NR | 220 | 0 (10) | 49 | ~1 kCi | ||
26 Apr 1986 - 06 May 1986 | Chernobyl, Ukraine, USSR | steam explosion and fire in graphite-moderated power reactor | A-PR | 1,600 | 28 (31) | 238+ | x | 52 MCi | |
12 Sep 1987 - 29 Sep 1987 | Goiania, Goias, Brazil | accidental dispersal of lost radiography source | A-osd | 700 | 5 | 20 | x | Cs-137 | 1375 Ci |
10 Dec 1990 - 20 Dec 1990 | Zarragosa, Spain | radiotherapy accident | A-mr | L | 18 | 9 | m | ||
22 Aug 1996 - 27 Sep 1996 | San Jose, Costa Rica | radiotherapy accident | A-mr | L | 7 | 81 | m | Co-60 | |
Aug 2000 - 24 Mar 2001 | Panama City, Panama | radiotherapy accident | A-mr | L | 17 | 11 | m | ||
08 Aug 2019 | Nyonoksa, Russia | explosion of experimental reactor | AC-R | large | 4 (5) | 6 (13) | x |
© 2007, 2022 by Wm. Robert Johnston.
Last modified 29 November 2022.
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