Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

Technology & Engineering Nuclear

Idaho Falls

The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident

by (author) William McKeown

Publisher
ECW Press
Initial publish date
Apr 2003
Category
Nuclear, General
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781550225624
    Publish Date
    Apr 2003
    List Price
    $19.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781554905430
    Publish Date
    Apr 2003
    List Price
    $10.95

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

When asked to name the world’s first major nuclear accident, most people cite the Three Mile Island incident or the Chernobyl disaster. Revealed in this book is one of American history’s best-kept secrets: the world’s first nuclear reactor accident to claim fatalities happened on United States soil. Chronicled here for the first time is the strange tale of SL-1, a military test reactor located in Idaho’s Lost River Desert that exploded on the night of January 3, 1961, killing the three-man maintenance crew on duty. Through details uncovered in official documents, firsthand accounts from rescue workers and nuclear industry insiders, and exclusive interviews with the victims’ families and friends, this book probes intriguing questions about the devastating blast that have remained unanswered for more than 40 years. From reports of a faulty reactor design and mismanagement of the reactor’s facilities to rumors of incompetent personnel and a failed love affair that prompted deliberate sabotage of the plant, these plausible explanations for the explosion raise questions about whether the truth was deliberately suppressed to protect the nuclear energy industry.

About the author

Contributor Notes

William McKeown has been a reporter and editor at newspapers in Idaho, California, and Colorado. His work has been recognized by the Associated Press, the Colorado Press Association, and the Best of the West journalism competition. He lives in Colorado Sp