SL-1
Sign in to saveAlso known as Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One
Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One, also known as SL-1, initially the Argonne Low Power Reactor (ALPR), was a United States Army experimental nuclear reactor at the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS) in Idaho about west of Idaho Falls, now the Idaho National Laboratory. It operated from 1958 to 1961, when an accidental explosion killed three plant operators, leading to changes in reactor design. This is the only U.S. reactor accident to have caused immediate deaths.
Key facts
- Event.caption
- November 29, 1961: The reactor vessel being removed from the reactor building, which acted substantially like the containment building used in modern nuclear facilities. The 60-ton Manitowoc Model 3900 crane had a steel shield with a thick lead glass window to protect the operator.
- Event.date
- January 3, 1961
- Event.place
- National Reactor Testing Station,west of Idaho Falls, Idaho, U.S.
- Event.outcome
- INES Level 4 (accident with local consequences)
- Event.reported deaths
- 3
- Event.title
- SL-1 nuclear accident
- Event.image_name
- US AEC SL-1.JPG
- Event.image_size
- 240px
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Image
- SL1nuclearpowerplant.JPG
Show 3 more facts
- Commons category
- SL-1 Reactor
- service entry
- 1958-10-24
- service retirement
- 1961-01-03
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~39 min read
Article
11 sectionsContents
- Design and operations
- Accident and response
- Reactor principles and events
- Events after the power excursion
- Cause
- Consequences
- Cleanup
- Movies and books
- See also
- References
- External links
Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One, also known as SL-1, initially the Argonne Low Power Reactor (ALPR), was a United States Army experimental nuclear reactor at the National Reactor Testing Station (NRTS) in Idaho about west of Idaho Falls, now the Idaho National Laboratory. It operated from 1958 to 1961, when an accidental explosion killed three plant operators, leading to changes in reactor design. This is the only U.S. reactor accident to have caused immediate deaths.
Part of the Army Nuclear Power Program, SL-1 was a prototype for reactors intended to provide electrical power and heat for small, remote military facilities, such as radar sites near the Arctic Circle, and those in the DEW Line. The design power was 3 MW (thermal), but some 4.7 MW tests had been performed in the months before the accident. Useful power output was 200 kW electrical and 400 kW for space heating.
Gallery (12)
On the map
6 mapped locations