The SL-1, or Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One, was a United States Army experimental nuclear power reactor which underwent a steam explosion and meltdown on January 3, 1961, killing its three operators. The direct cause was the improper withdrawal of the main control rod, responsible for 80% of neutron moderation in the poorly designed reactor core. The event is the only fatal reactor accident in the United States.
The concrete foundations are still there in the Idaho dessert. I used to drive by it every day.
50 posted on 08/28/2009 7:35:37 AM PDT by Pan_Yan
(All gray areas are fabrications.)