List of nuclear power accidents by country - wikipedia List of nuclear power accidents by country Deceased Liquidators ' portraits used for an anti-nuclear power protest in Geneva. The abandoned city of Pripyat, Ukraine with the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the distance. Worldwide, many nuclear accidents have occurred since the Chernobyl disaster in 1986. Two thirds of these mishaps occurred in the US. The French Atomic Energy Commission ( CEA ) has concluded that technical innovation can not eliminate the risk of human errors in nuclear plant operation. An interdisciplinary team from MIT has estimated that given the expected growth of nuclear power from 2005 -- 2055, at least four serious nuclear power accidents would be expected in that period. Contents 1 Nuclear safety 2 Overview 3 Belgium 4 Canada 5 France 6 Germany 7 India 8 Japan 9 Pakistan 10 Russia 11 South Korea 12 Ukraine 13 United Kingdom 14 United States 15 See also 16 References 17 External links Nuclear safety Main article : Nuclear safety The nuclear power industry has improved the safety and performance of reactors, and has proposed new safer ( but generally untested ) reactor designs but there is no guarantee that the reactors will be designed, built and operated correctly. Mistakes do occur and the designers of reactors at Fukushima in Japan did not anticipate that a tsunami generated by an earthquake would disable the backup systems that were supposed to stabilize the reactor after the earthquake. According to UBS AG, the Fukushima I nuclear accidents have cast doubt on whether even an advanced economy like Japan can master nuclear safety. Catastrophic scenarios involving terrorist attacks are also conceivable. An interdisciplinary team from MIT has estimated that given the expected growth of nuclear power from 2005 -- 2055, at least four serious nuclear accidents would be expected in that period. Overview Globally, there have been at least 99 ( civilian and military ) recorded nuclear power plant accidents from 1952 to 2009 ( defined as incidents that either resulted in the loss of human life or more than US $50,000 of property damage, the amount the US federal government uses to define nuclear energy accidents that must be reported ), totaling US $20.5 billion in property damages. Property damage costs include destruction of property, emergency response, environmental remediation, evacuation, lost product, fines, and court claims. Because nuclear power plants are large and complex, accidents on site tend to be relatively expensive. The 1979 Three Mile Island accident in Pennsylvania was caused by a series of failures in secondary systems at the reactor, which allowed radioactive steam to escape and resulted in the partial core meltdown of one of two reactors at the site, making it the most significant accident in U.S. history. The world 's worst nuclear accident has been the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the Soviet Union, one of two accidents that has been rated as a level 7 ( the highest ) event on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Note that the Chernobyl disaster may have scored an 8 or 9, if the scale continued. The accident occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant after an unsafe systems test led to a rupture of the reactor vessel and a series of steam explosions that destroyed reactor number four. The radioactivity plume spread to the surrounding city of Pripyat and covered extensive portions of Europe with traces of radioactivity, leaving reindeer in Northern Europe and sheep in portions of England unfit for human consumption. A 30 kilometres ( 19 mi ) `` Zone of alienation '' has been formed around the reactor. At least 57 accidents have occurred since the Chernobyl disaster, and over 56 nuclear accidents have occurred in the USA. Relatively few accidents have involved fatalities. Note that not all ratings are final as Cancer and Uncounted / Hidden results may have / will occur. Belgium This section needs expansion with : 2006 : Fleurus : INES 4 2011 : Doel : INES 2 2002 : Tihange : INES 2 2005 : Tihange : INES 2 only 2007 -- 2016 : 94 incidents of INES 1 See talk. You can help by adding to it. ( February 2017 ) Canada Nuclear power accidents in Canada Date Location Description Fatalities Cost ( in millions 2006 US $ ) 3 : 07 p.m. Friday, December 12, 1952 CRL, Ontario, Canada The NRX accident. A hydrogen explosion occurred in the reactor core due to a cascade of malfunctions and operator errors. The world 's first major nuclear reactor accident. 0 See NRX accident May 24, 1958 CRL, Ontario, Canada The NRU accident. A fuel rod caught fire and broke when removed, then dispersed fission products and alpha - emitting particles in the reactor building. 0 See NRU accident. November 1978 WR - 1 Reactor at Pinawa, Manitoba, Canada LOCA loss of coolant accident. 2,739 litres of coolant oil leaked, most of it into the Winnipeg River. The repair took several weeks for workers to complete. 0 Unknown. August 1, 1983 Pickering nuclear Reactor 2, Pickering, Ontario, Canada LOCA loss of coolant accident. Pressure tube, that holds the fuel bundles, ruptured due to hydriding. All four reactors re-tubed with new materials ( Zr - 2.5 % Nb ) over ten years. 0 1 Billion dollars. March 1986 Bruce nuclear Reactor 2, Bruce County, Ontario, Canada LOCA Loss of coolant accident. Pressure tube rupture during pressurizing test ( reactor shut down ). Pressure tube holds the fuel bundles. 0 Unknown. August 2, 1992 Pickering nuclear Reactor 1, Pickering, Ontario, Canada A Heavy water leak of 2300 trillion becquerels of radioactive tritium into Lake Ontario, resulting in increased levels of tritium in Toronto drinking water. 0 Unknown. December 10, 1994 Pickering nuclear Reactor 2, Pickering, Ontario, Canada LOCA loss of coolant accident. A spill of 185 tonnes of heavy water. The Emergency Core Cooling System was used to prevent a meltdown. 0 Unknown. June 11, 2002 Bruce nuclear Reactor 6, Bruce B station. Bruce County, Ontario, Canada Pressure tube and calandria tube damage during a channel maintenance procedure, required replacement of the 2 tubes. 0 Unknown. December 21, 2009 Darlington nuclear station. Clarington, Ontario, Canada Around 200,000 litres of water with trace amounts of radioactive isotope tritium coming from a storage tank mistakenly released by workers into Lake Ontario, representing 0.1 % of the monthly allowed amounts of tritium for this power plant. 0 Unknown. March 14, 2011 Pickering nuclear Plant A Pickering, Ontario, Canada A leak of 73 cubic metres ( 73,000 litres ) of demineralized water into Lake Ontario from a failed pump seal. There was negligible risk to the public according to the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. 0 Unknown. France Nuclear power accidents in France Date Location Description Fatalities Cost ( in millions 2006 US $ ) INES rating 17 Oct 1969 Loir - et - Cher, France 50 kg of uranium dioxide melted inside of the A1 nuclear reactor of Saint - Laurent - des - Eaux, during a refueling operation 0 Unknown ( likely far less than the 13 Mar 1980 accident ) 25 Jul 1979 Saclay, France Radioactive fluids escaped into drains designed for ordinary wastes, seeping into the local watershed at the Saclay BL3 Reactor 0 5 13 Mar 1980 Loir - et - Cher, France A malfunctioning cooling system fused fuel elements together at the Saint Laurent A2 reactor, melting two fuel assemblys and forcing an extended shutdown 0 22 14 Apr 1984 Bugey, France Electrical cables failed at the command center of the Bugey Nuclear Power Plant and forced a complete shutdown of one reactor 0 21 May 1986 Normandy, France Pipe maintenance at the fuel reprocessing plant at La Hague released a radioactive solution to which three welders and two plant workers were exposed. 0 5 27 Dec 1999 Blayais, France An unexpectedly strong storm flooded the Blayais Nuclear Power Plant, forcing an emergency shutdown after injection pumps and containment safety systems failed from water damage 0 55 21 Jan 2002 Manche, France Control systems and safety valves failed after improper installation of condensers, forcing a two - month shutdown 0 102 16 May 2004 Cattenom - 2, Lorraine, France Sub-standard electrical cable trays at the Cattenom - 2 nuclear reactor caused a fire in an electricity tunnel, damaging many safety system cables 0 12 13 Jul 2008 Tricastin, France Dozens of litres of wastewater contaminated with uranium were accidentally poured on the ground and runoff into a nearby river 0 7 9 Aug 2009 Gravelines, France Assembly system failed to properly eject spent fuel rods from the Gravelines Nuclear Power Plant, causing the fuel rods to jam and the defueling operation to be suspended 0 5 Apr 2012 Penly, France Fire on a primary pump of the second reactor, followed by a small radioactive leak into the containment 0 ? 2017 France, generic 20 reactors of the 1300 MW - class with seismic weaknesses on their emergency diesel generators 0 ? Germany Nuclear power accidents in Germany Date Location Description Fatalities Cost ( in millions 2006 US $ million ) Greifswald, East Germany A near core meltdown at Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant : Three out of six cooling water pumps were switched off for a failed test. A fourth pump broke down and control of the reactor was lost. 10 fuel elements were damaged before recovery 0 ? 4 May 1986 Hamm - Uentrop, Germany Operator actions to dislodge damaged fuel elements at the thorium high - temperature reactor released radioactivity to 4 km surrounding the facility 0 267 17 Dec 1987 Hessen, Germany Stop valve failed for a moment at Biblis Nuclear Power Plant ; contamination of local area in the reactor building 0 13 India Nuclear power accidents in India Date Location Description Fatalities Cost ( in millions 2006 US $ ) 4 May 1987 Kalpakkam, India Fast Breeder Test Reactor at Kalpakkam refuelling accident that ruptures the reactor core, resulting in a two - year shutdown 0 300 10 Sep 1989 Tarapur, Maharashtra, India Operators at the Tarapur Atomic Power Station find that the reactor had been leaking radioactive iodine at more than 700 times normal levels. Repairs to the reactor take more than a year 0 78 13 May 1992 Tarapur, Maharashtra, India A malfunctioning tube causes the Tarapur Atomic Power Station to release 12 curies of radioactivity 0 31 Mar 1993 Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, India The Narora Atomic Power Station suffers a fire at two of its steam turbine blades, damaging the heavy water reactor and almost leading to a meltdown 0 220 2 Feb 1995 Kota, Rajasthan, India The Rajasthan Atomic Power Station leaks radioactive helium and heavy water into the Rana Pratap Sagar River, necessitating a two - year shutdown for repairs N / A 280 22 Oct 2002 Kalpakkam, India Almost 100 kg radioactive sodium at a fast breeder reactor leaks into a purification cabin, ruining a number of valves and operating systems 0 30 Japan See also : Timeline of the Fukushima nuclear accidents and Nuclear power in Japan Nuclear power accidents in Japan Date Location Description Fatalities Cost ( in millions 2006 US $ ) INES rating 8 Jan 1975 Mihama, Japan Radioactivity released from Mihama nuclear power plant. 0 2 Nov 1978 Fukushima No1, Japan Japan 's first criticality accident at No 3 reactor, this accident was hidden for 29 years and reported on 22 Mar 2007 0 2 Apr 1979 Tokaimura, Japan Two workers suffer radioactive contamination at the Tokaimura complex. 0 24 -- 28 Jan 1981 Tsuruga, Japan 29 workers were exposed to radiation. 0 8 Mar 1981 Tsuruga, Japan 56 workers were exposed to about 45 tonnes of radioactive waste which spilled from storage tanks at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant. The waste was cleaned up with buckets and mops, and was also discharged into Tsuruga Bay via the town sewer. At the time, the plant had recorded 30 malfunctions since it was commissioned in 1970. 0 31 Aug 1985 Fukushima, Japan Fire at Fukushima nuclear power plant during routine shutdown. 0 23 Jun 1986 Tokaimura, Japan Twelve people suffer `` slight '' plutonium contamination while inspecting a storeroom. 0 8 Feb 1991 Fukui, Japan Radioactivity was released from Fukui nuclear power plant after an emergency release valve failed. Officials said the release `` did not pose a threat to humans or the environment. '' 0 22 Feb 1993 Fukushima, Japan High - pressure steam accident kills one worker and injures two others. December 1995 Tsuruga, Japan The fast breeder Monju Nuclear Power Plant sodium leak. State - run operator Donen was found to have concealed videotape footage that showed extensive damage to the reactor. 0 11 March 1997 Tokaimura, Japan The Tokaimura nuclear reprocessing plant fire and explosion. 37 workers were exposed to low doses of radiation. Donen later acknowledged it had initially suppressed information about the fire. 0 18 Jun 1999 Shiga, Japan A fuel loading system malfunctioned and set off an uncontrolled nuclear reaction and explosion. 0 30 Sept 1999 Tokaimura, Japan The criticality accident at the Tokai fuel fabrication facility. Hundreds of people were exposed to radiation and two workers later died. This is not a nuclear power plant accident, however. 2002 Onagawa, Japan Two workers were exposed to a small amount of radiation and suffered minor burns during a fire. 0 9 Aug 2004 Mihama, Japan A main piping burst in the turbine building of the Mihama - 3 station ; the subsequent investigation revealed a serious lack in systematic inspection in Japanese nuclear plants, which led to a massive inspection program. 5 2006 Fukushima No1, Japan A small amount of radioactive steam was released at the Fukushima Dai - ichi plant and it escaped the compound. 0 16 Jul 2007 Kashiwazaki, Japan A severe earthquake ( measuring 6.8 on the Richter magnitude scale ) hit the region where Tokyo Electric 's Kashiwazaki - Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant is located and radioactive water spilled into the Sea of Japan ; as of March 2009, all of the reactors remained shut down for damage verification and repairs. The plant with seven units is the largest single nuclear power station in the world, which now again is shutdown due to the Fukushima accident. 0 Dec 2009 Hamaoka, Japan Leakage accident of radioactive water. 34 workers were exposed to radiation 0 Mar 2011 Fukushima Dai - ichi, Japan The world 's second INES 7 accident. A magnitude 9.0 earthquake and associated tsunami triggered cooling problems at Fukushima 1 & 2 stations with several reactors. Loss of coolant resulted in meltdowns in three units and hydrogen explosions caused their structural damage. Radioactive steam was released into the atmosphere, and highly radioactive water spilled into the ocean through utility trenches. Some immediate injuries resulted. 117 workers received committed effective doses above 100 mSv, and 6 workers received doses above the emergency dose limit of 250 mSv. 0 7 6 June 2017 Ibaraki Prefecture The incident occurred at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency 's Oarai Research and Development Center, after a bag containing radioactive material tore open while a check on radioactive storage inside a `` controlled '' room was performed. It resulted in internal radiation exposure in five workers, with one of them inhaling plutonium. However, no radiation was detected in the external environment. 0 Pakistan Nuclear power accidents in Pakistan Date Location Description Fatalities Cost ( in millions 2006 US $ ) 18 October 2011 Karachi, Pakistan The KANUPP Karachi nuclear power plant imposed a seven - hour emergency after heavy water leaked from a feeder pipe to the reactor. The leakage took place during a routine maintenance shut down, and the emergency was lifted seven hours later, after the affected area was isolated. 0 N / A Russia Nuclear power accidents in the Russian Federation Date Location Description Fatalities Cost ( in millions 2006 US $ ) 1957 Mayak reprocessing plant, Ural - region Kyshtym disaster : Explosion in a waste tank of the plant with a massive radioactive cloud, deteriorating deeply the health of the regions population many late cancer fatalities ? Leningrad, Russian Federation An RBMK reactor released a radioactive cloud which traveled over north - eastern Europe. Russian officials declared that they saw no immediate danger posed by the event. Leningrad, Russian Federation Worker Sergei Kharitonov revealed photographs of cracked walls and groundwater seepage at a nuclear power plant waste storage facility. He also revealed that the plant has been dumping 300 litres of contaminated water into the Gulf of Finland annually `` for years ''. 0 N / A April 1998 Leningrad, Russian Federation An RBMK reactor was shut down following the discovery of a radiation leak. Autumn 2017 Ural - region, Russian Federation Roshydromet had issued report stated rise in beta activity of aerosoles and surfaces at all monitoring posts in South Ural from 25th Sep to 1 Oct 2017. In two aerosol samples Ru - 106 activity increase was detected. At 26th and 27th Sep Ru - 106 decay products was detected in Tatarstan republic. At 27th and 28th Sep high pollution levels of aerosoles and surfaces was detected in Volgograd and Rostov - on - Don. In two aerosol samples from Chelyabinsk Oblast 986 - and 440-fold activity increase was measured comparing to preceding month The Mayak nuclear plant is widely suspected as the source of the radiation. South Korea Nuclear power accidents in South Korea Date Location Description Fatalities Cost ( in millions 2006 US $ ) 4 October 1999 Wolsung, South Korea 22 workers employed by the Korea Electric Power Corp were exposed to radioactive liquid and gas at the Wolsung - 3 reactor. Two workers were initially exposed when approximately 12 gallons of heavy water leaked during pipe maintenance. A further 20 workers were exposed during clean - up operations. Ukraine Nuclear power accidents in Ukraine Date Location Description Fatalities Cost ( in millions 2006 US $ ) 26 Apr 1986 Pripyat, Ukraine, USSR Steam explosion and meltdown ( see Chernobyl disaster ) necessitating the evacuation of 300,000 people from Pripyat region and dispersing radioactive material across Europe ( see Effects of the Chernobyl disaster ) Fewer than 50 directly, eventually as many as 4000 6700 October 1999 Pripyat, Ukraine Metal structures broke, causing a gamma ray source to fall out of its container and expose two workers to `` high '' levels of radiation. The reactor was subsequently shut down until November. United kingdom Nuclear accidents in the UK Date Location Description Fatalities Cost ( in millions 2006 US $ ) INES rating Spring, 1957 Windscale ( now Sellafield ), UK Radioactivity release contaminated about 800 farms and introduced Strontium 90 to domestic milk supply. Milk was sold to the public without any warnings. 8 Oct 1957 Windscale / Sellafield, UK Fire ignites plutonium piles, contaminating surrounding dairy farms. 0 78 5 May 1967 Scotland, United Kingdom Partial meltdown at Dumfries and Galloway. Graphite debris partially blocked a fuel channel causing a fuel element to melt and catch fire at the Chapelcross nuclear power station. Contamination was confined to the reactor core. The core was repaired and restarted in 1969, operating until the plant 's shutdown in 2004. Sep 1996 Dounreay, Scotland, UK A fuel reprocessing plant was shut down after elevated radiation levels were detected in waste - water discharged to the sea. Feb 1998 Sellafield, UK Two workers exposed to radiation due to a leak from a damaged bag containing a nuclear filter. 19 Apr 2005 Sellafield, UK 20 tonnes uranium and 160 kg plutonium leak from a cracked pipe at the Thorp nuclear fuel reprocessing plant 0 65 United states Main article : Nuclear reactor accidents in the United States Nuclear power accidents in USA Date Location Description Fatalities Cost ( in millions 2006 US $ ) November 29, 1955 Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA Power excursion with partial core meltdown at National Reactor Testing Station 's EBR - 1 Experimental Breeder Reactor I 0 5 July 26, 1959 Simi Valley, California, USA Partial core meltdown at Santa Susana Field Laboratory 's Sodium Reactor Experiment 0 32 January 3, 1961 Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA Explosion at National Reactor Testing Station 's SL - 1 Stationary Low - Power Reactor Number One 22 October 5, 1966 Monroe, Michigan, USA Sodium cooling system malfunctions at Enrico Fermi demonstration breeder reactor causing partial core meltdown 0 19 August 11, 1973 Palisades, Michigan, USA Steam generator leak causes manual shutdown of pressurized water reactor 0 10 March 22, 1975 Browns Ferry, Alabama, USA Fire burns for seven hours and damages more than 1600 control cables for three nuclear reactors at Browns Ferry, disabling core cooling systems 0 240 November 5, 1975 Brownsville, Nebraska, USA Hydrogen gas explosion damages the Cooper Nuclear Station 's auxiliary building 0 13 June 10, 1977 Waterford, Connecticut, USA Hydrogen gas explosion damages three buildings and forces shutdown of Millstone - 1 Pressurized Water Reactor 0 15 February 4, 1979 Surry, Virginia, USA Surry Unit 2 shut down in response to failing tube bundles in steam generators 0 12 March 28, 1979 Middletown, Pennsylvania, USA Loss of coolant and partial core meltdown, see Three Mile Island accident and Three Mile Island accident health effects 0 2,400 October 17, 1981 Buchanan, New York, USA 100,000 gallons of Hudson River water leaked into the Indian Point Energy Center Unit 2 containment building from the fan cooling unit, undetected by a safety device designed to detect hot water. The flooding, covering the first 9 feet of the reactor vessel, was discovered when technicians entered the building. Two pumps which should have removed the water were found to be inoperative. NRC proposed a $210,000 fine for the incident. 0 -- March 20, 1982 Lycoming, New York, USA Recirculation system piping fails at Nine Mile Point Unit 1, forcing two year shutdown 0 45 March 25, 1982 Buchanan, New York, USA Damage to steam generator tubes and main generator resulting in a shut down Indian Point Energy Center Unit 3 for more than a year 0 56 June 18, 1982 Senaca, South Carolina, USA Feedwater heat extraction line fails at Oconee 2 Pressurised Water Reactor, damaging thermal cooling system 0 10 February 12, 1983 Forked River, New Jersey, USA Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant fails safety inspection, forced to shut down for repairs 0 32 February 26, 1983 Fort Pierce, Florida, USA Damaged thermal shield and core barrel support at St Lucie Unit 1, necessitating 13 - month shutdown 0 54 September 15, 1984 Athens, Alabama, USA Safety violations, operator error, and design problems force six year outage at Browns Ferry Unit 2 0 110 March 9, 1985 Athens, Alabama, USA Instrumentation systems malfunction during start - up, which led to suspension of operations at all three Browns Ferry Units 0 1,830 April 11, 1986 Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA Recurring equipment problems force emergency shutdown of Boston Edison 's Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant 0 1,001 1986 Surry, Virginia, USA Broken Feedwater line at Surry Nuclear Power Plant 0 ? March 31, 1987 Delta, Pennsylvania, USA Peach Bottom units 2 and 3 shutdown due to cooling malfunctions and unexplained equipment problems 0 400 December 19, 1987 Lycoming, New York, USA Malfunctions force Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation to shut down Nine Mile Point Unit 1 0 150 September 10, 1988 Surry, Virginia, USA Refuelling cavity seal fails and destroys internal pipe system at Surry Unit 2, forcing 12 - month outage 0 9 March 5, 1989 Tonopah, Arizona, USA Atmospheric dump valves fail at Palo Verde Unit 1, leading to main transformer fire and emergency shutdown 0 14 March 17, 1989 Lusby, Maryland, USA Inspections at Calvert Cliff Units 1 and 2 reveal cracks at pressurized heater sleeves, forcing extended shutdowns 0 120 November 17, 1991 Scriba, New York, USA Safety and fire problems force shut down of the FitzPatrick nuclear reactor for 13 months 0 5 April 21, 1992 Southport, North Carolina, USA NRC forces shut down of Brunswick Units 1 and 2 after emergency diesel generators fail 0 February 3, 1993 Bay City, Texas, USA Auxiliary feed - water pumps fail at South Texas Project Units 1 and 2, prompting rapid shutdown of both reactors 0 February 27, 1993 Buchanan, New York, USA New York Power Authority shuts down Indian Point Energy Center Unit 3 after AMSAC system fails 0 March 2, 1993 Soddy - Daisy, Tennessee, USA Equipment failures and broken pipes cause shut down of Sequoyah Unit 1 0 December 25, 1993 Newport, Michigan, USA Shut down of Fermi Unit 2 after main turbine experienced major failure due to improper maintenance 0 67 14 January 1995 Wiscasset, Maine, USA Steam generator tubes unexpectedly crack at Maine Yankee nuclear reactor ; shut down of the facility for a year 0 62 May 16, 1995 Salem, New Jersey, USA Ventilation systems fail at Salem Units 1 and 2 0 34 February 20, 1996 Connecticut, USA Leaking valve forces shutdown Millstone Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2, multiple equipment failures found 0 254 September 2, 1996 Crystal River, Florida, USA Balance - of - plant equipment malfunction forces shutdown and extensive repairs at Crystal River Unit 3 0 384 September 5, 1996 Clinton, Illinois, USA Reactor recirculation pump fails, prompting shut down of Clinton boiling water reactor 0 38 September 20, 1996 Senaca, Illinois, USA Service water system fails and results in closure of LaSalle Units 1 and 2 for more than 2 years 0 71 September 9, 1997 Bridgman, Michigan, USA Ice condenser containment systems fail at Cook Units 1 and 2 0 11 May 25, 1999 Waterford, Connecticut, USA Steam leak in feed - water heater causes manual shutdown and damage to control board annunciator at the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant 0 7 September 29, 1999 Lower Alloways Creek, New Jersey, USA Major Freon leak at Hope Creek Nuclear Facility causes ventilation train chiller to trip, releasing toxic gas and damaging the cooling system 0 February 16, 2002 Oak Harbor, Ohio, USA Severe corrosion of control rod drives in the reactor head forces 24 - month outage of Davis - Besse reactor 0 143 January 15, 2003 Bridgman, Michigan, USA A fault in the main transformer at the Donald C. Cook nuclear power plant causes a fire that damages the main generator and back - up turbines 0 10 June 16, 2005 Braidwood, Illinois, USA Exelon 's Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station leaks tritium and contaminates local water supplies 0 41 August 4, 2005 Buchanan, New York, USA Entergy 's Indian Point Energy Center Nuclear Plant leaks tritium and strontium into underground lakes from 1974 to 2005 30 March 6, 2006 Erwin, Tennessee, USA Nuclear fuel services plant spills 35 litres of highly enriched uranium, necessitating 7 - month shutdown 0 98 November 21, 2009 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA Twelve workers were contaminated after radioactive dust was mobilized at the Three Mile Island plant during pipe maintenance works. 0 January 7, 2010 Buchanan, New York, USA NRC inspectors reported that an estimated 600,000 gallons of mildly radioactive steam was intentionally vented after an automatic shutdown of Indian Point Energy Center Unit 2. The levels of tritium in the steam were below those allowable by NRC safety standards. 0 0 February 1, 2010 Vernon, Vermont, USA Deteriorating underground pipes from the Vermont Yankee Nuclear Power Plant leak radioactive tritium into groundwater supplies 0 700 July 2016 Michigan, USA Massive steam leak in the turbine building of Donald C. Cook Nuclear Plant, unit 2 0 ? See also Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents List of nuclear and radiation fatalities by country References ^ Jump up to : Benjamin K. Sovacool ( January 2011 ). `` Second Thoughts About Nuclear Power '' ( PDF ). National University of Singapore. p. 8. Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2013 - 01 - 16. ^ Jump up to : Jacobson, Mark Z. & Delucchi, Mark A. ( 2010 ). `` Providing all Global Energy with Wind, Water, and Solar Power, Part I : Technologies, Energy Resources, Quantities and Areas of Infrastructure, and Materials '' ( PDF ). Energy Policy. p. 6. 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Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 02. ^ Jump up to : Aziz, Faisal ( October 20, 2011 ). `` Leak at Pakistani nuclear plant, but no damage ''. reuters.com. Retrieved 22 October 2011. ^ Jump up to : Anderson, Jack ; Kohn, Douglas ( 1999 - 10 - 11 ). `` More nuclear disasters likely ''. Standard - Speaker. Retrieved 2015 - 03 - 11. Jump up ^ Об аварийном, экстремально высоком и высоком загрязнении окружающей среды на территории Российской Федерации в период с 6 по 13 октября 2017 года ( Report ) ( in Russian ). Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 21. Jump up ^ Luxmoore, Matthew ; Cowell, Alan. `` Russia, in Reversal, Confirms Radiation Spike ''. New York Times. Retrieved November 21, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Workers exposed to radiation at South Korean nuclear plant ''. The Kokomo Tribune. 1999 - 10 - 06. Retrieved 2015 - 03 - 03. Jump up ^ `` The international experts have estimated that radiation could cause up to about 4000 eventual deaths among the higher - exposed Chernobyl populations, i.e., emergency workers from 1986 -- 1987, evacuees and residents of the most contaminated areas ''. -- World Health Organization. Chernobyl : the true scale of the accident 5 September 2005. ^ Jump up to : `` Info withheld on nuclear accident, papers show ''. The Index - Journal. Greenwood, South Carolina. 1989 - 01 - 03. Retrieved 2015 - 03 - 10. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 2011 - 05 - 20. Retrieved 2011 - 04 - 28. Jump up ^ `` British nuke plant closed ''. Standard - Speaker. Hazelton, Pennsylvania. 1996 - 10 - 01. Retrieved 2015 - 03 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Leak contaminates British workers ''. Standard - Speaker. Hazelton, Pennsylvania. 1998 - 02 - 02. Retrieved 2015 - 03 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2012 - 12 - 09. Retrieved 2012 - 10 - 14. Jump up ^ Perrow, Charles Normal Accidents ( New York : Basic Books 1984 ) ISBN 0 - 465 - 05142 - 1 pp. 45 -- 46 Jump up ^ Levy, Marc ( 2009 - 11 - 24 ). `` Pipe - cutting lead to radiation at nuke plant ''. Altoona Mirror. Retrieved 2015 - 03 - 10. Jump up ^ Luby, Abby ( January 7, 2010 ). `` Nuclear steam leak intentional : Response to Indian Point plant shutdown ''. Daily News. New York. External links The Worst Nuclear Disasters TIME magazine U.S. Nuclear Accidents Compiled by allen lutins `` The world 's worst nuclear power disasters ''. Power Technology. 7 October 2013. Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents Main accident lists Vulnerability of nuclear plants to attack Chernobyl - related articles Crimes involving radioactive substances Criticality accidents and incidents Nuclear meltdown accidents List of Milestone nuclear explosions Military nuclear accidents Nuclear and radiation accidents and incidents Nuclear and radiation accidents by death toll Nuclear weapons tests Sunken nuclear submarines Lists by country Cancelled nuclear reactors in the United States Inquiries into uranium mining in Australia Nuclear and radiation fatalities by country Nuclear power accidents by country Nuclear reactors by country Nuclear test sites Nuclear weapons tests of the Soviet Union Nuclear weapons tests of the United States Individual accidents and sites 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster 2001 Instituto Oncológico Nacional # Accident 1996 San Juan de Dios radiotherapy accident 1990 Clinic of Zaragoza radiotherapy accident 1987 Goiânia accident 1986 Chernobyl disaster and Effects of the Chernobyl disaster 1979 Three Mile Island accident and Three Mile Island accident health effects 1969 Lucens reactor 1962 Thor missile launch failures at Johnston Atoll under Operation Fishbowl 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis 1961 K - 19 nuclear accident 1961 SL - 1 nuclear meltdown 1957 Kyshtym disaster 1957 Windscale fire 1957 Operation Plumbbob 1954 Totskoye nuclear exercise Bikini Atoll Hanford Site Rocky Flats Plant 1945 Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Related topics Books about nuclear issues Films about nuclear issues Anti-war movement Bikini Atoll Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists France and weapons of mass destruction History of the anti-nuclear movement International Day against Nuclear Tests Nuclear close calls Nuclear - Free Future Award Nuclear - free zone Nuclear power debate Nuclear power phase - out Nuclear weapons debate Peace activists Peace movement Peace camp Russell -- Einstein Manifesto Smiling Sun Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_nuclear_power_accidents_by_country&oldid=840943692 '' Categories : Lists of nuclear disasters Nuclear history Nuclear safety and security Nuclear power by country Nuclear technology - related lists Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from May 2017 Articles with permanently dead external links Webarchive template wayback links CS1 Russian - language sources ( ru ) Articles to be expanded from February 2017 All articles to be expanded Articles using small message boxes Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 13 May 2018, at 02 : 14. 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Question: the most damaging nuclear power plant accident occured at
Answer: Chernobyl