Major Nuclear Power Mishaps in 35 Countries Since 1990

After the United States and China, France ranks third in the world in nuclear power electric production. Relative to its population and geographic size, France is the most nuclear power dependent country in the world and it ranks second on this list, after the United States, in the number of reported nuclear and radiological-related incidents. Though none of these events led to radiological leaks, two incidents injured or killed reactor workers. One incident, in September 2011, was a furnace blast at the Marcoule Nuclear Site. In the other, in November 1992, three workers entered an active nuclear particle accelerator without protective gear in Forbach.

Germany is in the process of phasing-out its nuclear power plants, but Russia’s war on Ukraine and its impact on the European energy market has forced a delay in the shutdown of the country’s last three reactors until April 2023. One of the 21 radiological mishaps reported in Germany since 1990 rose to level 3 on the INES when a worker at a company that tests non-destructive materials in Lower Saxony was exposed to high levels of radiation resulting in significant injury.

All but one of Hungary’s nuclear and radiological-related mishaps since 1990 were rated below level 3 on the INES. The most serious incident occurred at Hungary’s nuclear power plant near the southern town of Paks when fuel rods collapsed in one of the plant’s reactors leading to a leak of radioactive gasses. The reactor remained offline for 18 months for repairs.

India ranks third in the number of reported nuclear and radiological-related incidents since 1990, after the United States and France, despite having significantly fewer nuclear power reactors. All but two events have ranked lower than INES level 3, but one of them measured level 4.

In that event, on April 7, 2010, a scrap-metal dealer came to a hospital with radiation-induced symptoms. Upon investigation, it was discovered that the source of the radiation was discarded gamma cells (used for a number of industrial and medical purposes) containing cobalt-60 at three scrap metal shops in the Mayapuri district of West Delhi, requiring an extensive cleanup operation. A level 3 event occurred in 1993 when a turbine fire at a nuclear power plant in Narora, Uttar Pradesh state, set off an emergency cooling system that prevented a meltdown.

Iran is a relatively recent member of the nuclear power club, putting its first plant online in 2011. A second $2 billion plant is under construction in Khuzestan province. None of its seven incident reports since 1990 involve its only nuclear power plant located at the southern port city of Bushehr. Two were classified as INES level 3. One in September 2005 involved overexposure of two workers to gamma radiation at an oil refinery project, and the other, in December 2018, involved overexposure of two workers while performing industrial radiography in Khorasane Razavi province.