Windscale: The British Chernobyl

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[anonymousrex]

"Meltdown is one of those annoying buzz words...we prefer to think of this as an unwanted energy surplus"- C.M. Burns

[brianc]

3:52 gosh I can't imagine how building a nuclear facility as fast as possible could backfire

[PaulWerkema]

The first time I ever heard "The reactor is critical" I was on a submarine and I asked if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Near the end of the five years I was stationed on submarines I finally asked why all the terminology concerning the reactor made it sound like we were all about to die.

[hollywollydownton]

I spoke to my Grandpa after watching this video as I knew he worked in nuclear power and it turns out he was at Windscale the day of the disaster! His specialty was metallurgy and he was asked to help out after the disaster (he travelled to all the power plants in the country so wasn't always at Windscale). It was his idea to use ceramic instead of metal for the casing or something to help contain it afterwards. When I was little I used to tell people he saved the world and I guess he kind of did!

[Jimbojo]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the fact that the pile was air cooled and it was switching off the cooling fans (very late) which almost certainly averted disaster and allowed the water quenching to work. The fact that no-one appeared to realise for quite a long time that blowing air over a fire may be exascerbating the problem is quite remarkable. Anyway, great video love the channel.

[merwindor]

Parallel universe would have had Simon with no beard and a full head of hair.

[DeliriumzzZ]

Tom Tuohy is the true definition of a hero. He was someone who was intelligent enough to know that what sticking his head over that pile could do to him, yet he still just went ahead and did it. It's pretty sad that he didn't even get some sort of recognition from the country. It wouldn't make him live longer, but at least it's something that his family could always cherish.

[dominusetdeus]

Day 7: "I've lost count of all the videos simon put out. All is simon. All is knowledge"

[grahamross]

Wasn't alive for Windscale but I do remember school ushering us indoors as the air-raid siren sounded after Chernobyl and the TV news warned of acid rain. Flipping cold war was a paranoia fest.
Dead sheep, melted bus shelters, etc.

Ah the life of a GenX.

[kristinepfs]

I have always found this particular nuclear accident fascinating.

The documentary "Our Reactor is on Fire" is particularly good.

[MannnisEi]

Tom was kind of a genius.

"We need someone to climb the tower, see whats going on, and report back so we can form a plan"

"I'll do it"

later

"So, what is the situation?"


"Shit's on fire, we should use water"

[ignitionfrn]

1:30 - Chapter 1 - Atomic betrayal
4:45 - Chapter 2 - Follies & inaccuracies
7:45 - Mid roll ads
9:20 - Chapter 3 - Smoke on the water
13:10 - Chapter 4 - Fire in the sky
17:30 - Chapter 5 - The poison room

[lasersailor]

When I was at college I did an internship at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment Harwell and my thesis was on the distribution of radionuclides in the environment - specifically Cesium 137 from the Windscale release. We found this radioisotope had leached down into the soil around the region with the largest concentrations correlated to rainfall during the episode. When we were driving around our Geiger counters went crazy when we crossed streams. Ah, good times. I’ve still got my thesis report.

[Newt.--.Jaeden]

My Grandfather worked at the Dounreay Nuclear Plant in Scotland while this happened. He was brought down to help them with the situation. (I don't know *any* of the science or what he did, but it's still neat)

[briangarrow]

I originally thought I was pathetically clueless about the Windscale debacle and coverup.
I feel even worse about not knowing this JoJo person.

[Kilmore]

Tom Touhy not only had balls of steel, but it was not the water that put the fire out. It was actually turning of the reacter fans, and the fire died down.

[adamcadovius]

Love how Simon didn’t even pause when describing the reactor going critical like it’s not a bad thing.

Because it’s not.

[JoelReid]

Often missed in Project Hurricane... the fallout fell across half of Australia. People in the North West of Australia had significantly higher rates of tumor cancer if they were alive during that event. The subsequent tests in South Australia contaminated local indigenous and UK/Austrlaian workers as well.
The irony... UK uranium was sourced in Australia (Austrlaia has the largest deposits in teh world), tested in Australia, and hurt Australians... unsurprisingly, Australia avoids having their own nuclear weapons and now has a policy to not sell their uranium for anything except peaceful purposes.

[OnboardG]

"If you think that's far fetched... well you've never lived in the UK".

[larry-naylor]

Windscale is a reminder of the dangers of hubris and how important it is to listen to the experts. The alternate reality that Simon alluded to was frightening and needs to be avoided at all costs.