Editing Nuclear technology (section)

== Accidents ==
{{Main|Nuclear and radiation accidents|Nuclear safety}}

Nuclear accidents, because of the powerful forces involved, are often very dangerous. Historically, the first incidents involved fatal [[Radiation poisoning|radiation exposure]]. [[Marie Curie]] died from [[aplastic anemia]] which resulted from her high levels of exposure. Two scientists, an American and Canadian respectively, [[Harry Daghlian]] and [[Louis Slotin]], died after mishandling the [[Demon core|same plutonium mass]]. Unlike conventional weapons, the intense light, heat, and explosive force is not the only deadly component to a nuclear weapon. Approximately half of the deaths from [[Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|Hiroshima and Nagasaki]] died two to five years afterward from radiation exposure.<ref name="rerf-deaths"/><ref name="pubmedcentral.nih.gov"/>

Civilian [[List of civilian nuclear accidents|nuclear]] and [[List of civilian radiation accidents|radiological]] accidents primarily involve nuclear power plants. Most common are nuclear leaks that expose workers to hazardous material. A [[nuclear meltdown]] refers to the more serious hazard of releasing nuclear material into the surrounding environment. The most significant meltdowns occurred at [[Three Mile Island accident|Three Mile Island]] in [[Pennsylvania]] and [[Chernobyl disaster|Chernobyl]] in the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[Ukraine]]. The earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 caused serious damage to three nuclear reactors and a spent fuel storage pond at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan. Military reactors that experienced similar accidents were [[Windscale fire|Windscale]] in the [[United Kingdom]] and [[SL-1]] in the United States.

[[List of military nuclear accidents|Military accidents]] usually involve the loss or unexpected detonation of nuclear weapons. The [[Castle Bravo]] test in 1954 produced a larger yield than expected, which contaminated nearby islands, a Japanese fishing boat (with one fatality), and raised concerns about contaminated [[fish]] in Japan. In the 1950s through 1970s, several nuclear bombs were lost from submarines and aircraft, some of which have never been recovered. The last twenty years{{as of?|date=May 2012}} have seen a marked decline in such accidents.