The SL-1 Reactor Incident

The Stationary Low-Power Plant Number 1 was a small boiling-water reactor built at the National Reactor Testing Station, west of Idaho Falls, Idaho. On January 3, 1961, during a restart of the reactor, a catastrophic tragedy unfolded when the reactor went supercritical. 

Research:

Divison of Technical Information Extension, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. “SL-1 The Accident, Phases I and II.” https://www.osti.gov/sciencecinema/biblio/1129428 Francisco, A.D. and E. T. Tomlinson. “Analysis of the SL-1 Accident Using RELAP5-3D.” Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory. 2007 International RELAP5 User’s Seminar. November 7 -9, 2007. https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/39/038/39038759.pdf?r=1 Idaho National Laboratory. “SL-1, Idaho: Just the Facts.” https://factsheets.inl.gov/FactSheets/Just%20the%20Facts_SL-1.pdf O’Connor, Bryan. “Supercritical: SL-1 Nuclear Reactor Explosion.” NASA. September 2007. https://sma.nasa.gov/docs/default-source/safety-messages/safetymessage-2007-09-01-sl1nuclearreactorexplosion-vits.pdf McKeown, William. “Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America’s First Nuclear Accident.” ECW Press. 2003. Perry, E.F. “Stationary Low Power Reactor No. 1 (SL-1) Accident Site Decontamination & Dismantlement Project.” Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies. 10/27/1995. https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/27/029/27029475.pdf?r=1 SL-1 Accident Briefing Report - 1961 Nuclear Reactor Meltdown Educational Documentary. United States: N. p., 2013. Web. https://www.osti.gov/sciencecinema/biblio/1122857 Sommers, Bryan W. “Idaho Falls: The First Nuclear Meltdown in America’s History.” 4/11/2024. https://www.argonelectronics.com/blog/idaho-falls-first-nuclear-meltdown-in-americas-history Stacy, Susan M. “Proving the Principle.” Idaho Operations Office of the Department of Energy Idaho Falls, Idaho. 2000. U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. “IDO Report on the Nuclear Incident at the SL-1 Reactor, January 3, 1961, National Reactor Testing Station.” U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Idaho Operations Office. US Atomic Energy Commission. “REPORT ON THE SL-1 INCIDENT, JANUARY 3, 1961” https://archive.org/details/SL1PressRelease1961 Wander, Steve, executive editor. “Supercritical.” System Failure Case Studies. Vol. 1, Issue 4. https://sma.nasa.gov/docs/default-source/safety-messages/safetymessage-2007-09-01-sl1nuclearreactorexplosion.pdf

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