America's First Nuclear Disaster - The SL1 Incident

The in-depth story of the SL-1 Nuclear Reactor Explosion Disaster.
Inside "Fire Station Number 1" at the Army’s National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho, United States, the siren sounds at 9:01 pm on January 3, 1961. A false alarm had been raised twice before in the furnace room of the support building - which houses the stationary low-power nuclear reactor. Each alarm calls for attention in a place like this, where nuclear research is conducted...

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[johntrottier]

As an ex-nuc who spent several years out at Idaho Navel Reactor Training center, I am impressed with the careful and correct narration. This episode is one of the most accurate short documentaries out there on SL-1.
I'm glad to see that the "Dark" channel is doing a better job of research and editing than we have seen in the past.
Well done

[Narmatonia]

The Windscale fire nuclear disaster in the UK would be a good similar event to cover, most of the radioactive material was stopped by protective filters, but the majority of people involved in the project thought they'd be unnecessary.

[Drebel]

What is amazing is that it took less than a second for this meltdown and explosion to take place. It gives you an impression on how fast fission can take place.

[nursenic]

That feeling when your coworker lifts the nuclear control rod too high and you get impaled to the ceiling

[klwnkiller]

I first heard about this from a guy I met in the US Army in the 1980s. HIs job title was "nuclear safety officer" and it was his job to travel to Arlington National Cemetary and check the "lead-lined 30 foot deep" graves of the three men for radiation leaks.

[Skank_and_Gutterboy]

I am really impressed by the use of proper terminology. In press reports and documentaries, the usage of these terms (such as "criticality", "reactivity", and "prompt-critical") are usually atrocious. The terms are also explained well and correctly. This little documentary is VERY well done.

[gabrielrodriguez]

I love the firefighter interview on yt. He really sets the scene as they approach the core and their radiation sensor is going haywire. It's terrifying stuff.

When everything was said and done he tells the firechief they need to decontaminate the fire truck.
The chief was using a shopvac which of course sprays the radioactive particles everywhere and the firefighter was screaming calling him a idiot.

[TomHoops]

I read about this a few years ago when studying nuclear power and was surprised not many people had heard about it, the firefighters looked for the coworker for 2 hours before one of them looked up to the ceiling

[wondermenel]

Nuclear power is good and safe, as long as it is done right

[jordannorton]

Wasn’t sure where the 3rd missing serviceman part was headed….Let’s just say I definitely didn’t see that coming 😮

[marcosacceleronhotwheels]

the fact one of the workers was impaled to the ceiling and hung up there like something from a horror movie makes this really gruesome, even more than just a reactor explosion

[Idaho-Idaho]

I worked on the final cleanup of the ARA-2 area where the SL-1 reactor was located. My job was to design the cleanup process for the AR-15 tank, located to the north of where the reactor building was located. This 1, 000 gallon stainless steel tank contained liquid waste from the complexes lab facility. It was below grade and when we lowered a camera into it, you could read the print on the inside wall that had the name of the manufacturer. Tank looked brand new even though is was over 40 years old.

[CarsCatAliens]

Can we take a second to appreciate firefighters who put themselves ahead of everything (including death, and injury) for the safety of others 👏🏽

[lunayoshi]

I love how I decided to go on a Dark History binge and noticed this video posted 51 minutes ago while I was watching the Enschede Fireworks Factory Disaster vid. I love this channel. :)

[timrussell]

Brilliant engineering. Something as critical as the precise, incremental retraction of critical control rods were relegated to human hands and raw muscle power to perform the task. Absolutely incredible!

[nukiepoo]

Finally as reasonably accurate account of the SL-1 without the gratuitous smearing of the victims. I commend you.

[southwestxnorthwest]

Fun Fact: the operating contractor of SL1 also designed and manufactured the two reactors (WNP-3 & WNP-5) for the Satsop Nuclear Generating Station in Washington State which was never completed and abandoned before reaching completion due to cost overruns. WNP-3 reached 76% completion and WNP-5 reached 16% completion before voters pulled the plug.

[kh]

I first read about this disaster in John G Fuller's book "We Almost Lost Detroit" in 1975. It was a real eye-opener to nuclear accidents that got little if any press. The film gave good visual context to the written account. Thank you for sharing it with us. ☢️💀😱

[anhedonianepiphany]

The reactor vessel wasn’t launched by _liquid_ water because the energy of the criticality almost instantly vaporised the water within (though not rapidly enough to end the criticality before disaster). It was a pressure wave of steam which caused the vessel to rise up and this explosion also expelled the plugs and the control rod.

[tarawillis]

Those poor men! What a terrible thing to happen. Your videos are always so informative and interesting ♥️