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Idaho Falls

The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident

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About this listen

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.

©2003 William Thomas McKeown (P)2012 Audible, Inc. 20th Century Americas Engineering Media Studies Modern Social Sciences State & Local United States Nuclear Weapons
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Goodness me, I picked this book ,well I don’t know why…… inquisitive I suppose but heck I have learnt so much about a subject that to all intents has been hidden in the light of recent events…….we will never know what or why this happened but it’s a terrific who done it. Worth listening to again I feel

Fascinating story I knew nothing abou

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Well written in print media format. Check a narration sample first as the style maynot suit everyones taste.

Well written

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