Before the Chernobyl explosion, the Three Mile Island accident, or the Fukushima disaster, the American northwest had a nuclear reactor meltdown that few remember today.

 

On a freezing winter night in 1961, three American service members died in Idaho Falls when the Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One (SL-1, colloquially) exploded, releasing dangerous levels of radiation into the local community. This is the story of SL-1, its gruesome explosion, the stunning response that followed, and the lessons learned thereafter. 

This is, we assure you, a WILD story. We ask that you listen only to the first 90 seconds and you'll be hooked into this episode.

The SL-1 reactor was developed in the late 1950s to power radar systems intended to provide the United States with early warning against a Soviet bomber attack on the homeland. It's story is part of the American Cold War story. It's a story that needs to be told. We tell here, on episode 53 of the 18th Airborne Corps podcast.