A Brief History of: The Cecil Kelley Nuclear Accident (Short Documentary)

#nuclear #criticality
The late 1950s was a bad time for nuclear accidents, with power excursions, criticality events and meltdowns galore!
Needless to say if you were working back then in the nuclear industry then you better have had good insurance.
Today we are back at the Los Alamos laboratory for the 3rd and lesser known fatality from a criticality event, the first two being linked to the demon core.
The event would be named after its victim and called the Cecil Kelley Criticality event.
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Sources:
www.osti.gov/s... 5
www.newspapers...
www.orau.org/p...
ncsp.llnl.gov/...
www.osti.gov/s...
permalink.lanl...
By Ben Brooksbank, CC BY-SA 2.0, commons.wikime...
By Ecodefense/Heinrich Boell Stiftung Russia/Slapovskaya/Nikulina, Attribution, commons.wikime...
By I, Padraic Ryan, CC BY-SA 3.0, commons.wikime...
By Los Alamos National Laboratory - From LANL's report on criticality accidents, 2000, www.csirc.net/d... PDF at www.csirc.net/l..., Attribution, commons.wikime...

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Hello! Have any suggestions of any future nuclear videos let me know below😬😬😬

[@ChiIlCook]

Silver town explosion might make a good video,

[@dildoshwagins2222]

I think KZbin is having a big problem right now I haven’t seen anything interesting at all your a temporary fix

[@intellectualiconoclasm3264]

I'd love to see any clean-ups of previous "Safe indefinite waste storage," facilities please.

[@SUDS_N_DUDS]

The Milk Man knows what needs done.

[@tenkaraintheiowadriftless]

How about an addendum to this video on Clarence Lushbaugh. His role in this and other events is the most scary and insidious. So many innocent lives put at risk.

[@liberteus]

"exposure to death was 2 days" Well it may sound bad, but really if you have to die while your body is melting away, you'd rather have that process be very quick.

[@WindTurbineSyndrome]

People were guinea pigs back then as to nuclear radiation death. Once he was exposed he was studied. Was he even given morphine? When I heard the rads I was like uh huh... death by irradiation is cruel. Many millions or billions of animals were killed in very unnecessary radiation experiments including surgically implanting plutonium into the body cavity of live dogs. These bodies were often buried in public areas of southern california - see environmental reporter website, and forever contaminated huge swaths of desert near Hansom plant. People who research this topic learn very quickly the govt downplays its role in creating huge irradiated materials that cannot be kept safe for 50 years. Off coast of CA and Nj were dumping grounds for decades before it was outlawed.

[@neuralmute]

@@WindTurbineSyndrome I've read that Kelley was given Demerol and morphine before he fell into a coma. Let's just hope that they gave him a lot of it.

[@RHD_lantz]

The guy from Tokaimura accident having it worse, he fell dead several time to be ressusitated again and study for more than a week, even his painful last word is to end him (mind you the picture is not like a human again).

[@dacypher22]

Yeah, he was basically spared a much worse, slower death by actually getting a higher dose. Ouchi from Tokaimura immediately comes to mind.

[@neuralmute]

@@dacypher22 Plus, back in the 50's they just didn't have the medical technology to keep Kelley alive as long as they kept poor Ouchi alive in the 90's. Sometimes low tech is a blessing.

[@u0aol1]

Good morning, nuclear accidents are a perfect way to start the day.

[@intellectualiconoclasm3264]

Nothing invigorates the system quite like a near leathal does of free radicals. A cup of Tea or Joe just can't bring this level of random alpha and beta particals in the blood stream!

[@6777Productions]

A standard part of starting my weekend

[@Idaxasi]

Just woke up to youtube recommending this. I'm still in bed.

[@gyromurphy]

The best part of waking up.. is radiation in your cup

[@JohnDoe-ox5ni]

@@gyromurphy I guess if you have defected from Russia under a cloud it would be a regular part of your day running a Geiger counter over everything. Even a nice cup of tea in the morning could be laced with death.The ruskies have come long way from icepicks in the head to deal with traitors.

[@anameofsomesort959]

I'm a simple man, I see a horrid nuclear accident that leads to death, I *like.*

[@PlainlyDifficult]

A person of radioactive tastes

[@narmale]

@@PlainlyDifficult would the irradiation of your tongue lead to no taste? :3

[@cmotdibbler4454]

@@PlainlyDifficult It is best spread on toast, just like marmite.

[@neuralmute]

@@narmale Nah, it just means that everything OP eats tastes like metal.

[@conribarnes1373]

@@neuralmute And very sour, and maybe a bit bitter too.

[@onlyonewhyphy]

Nobody: 1950's: Using Uranium to heat the kids beds in winter.

[@tardvandecluntproductions1278]

The 50's were absolutely wild for all those innovative companies. All of the tech, none of the regulations!

[@Ganiscol]

And very little knowledge in general, as they were in the learning by doing phase. Its the trifecta of horror: Ignorant cornucopians acting irresponsibly

[@EternityForest]

Everyone loves to go on about how people invented such great stuff before they all started doing things the "academic nerd way"... but so much of it was completely awful until the real high tech and science came along.

[@Weaponsandstuff93]

A bit like the "Let's put all these Radium products into your body, it will give you energy!"

[@jmd1743]

@@EternityForest I hate Cpt Hindsight, no shit we know that the stuff they were doing in the 1950s were dangerous nearly three quarters of a century after we did said dangerous stuff.

[@Ganiscol]

Poor Cecile Kelley assumed a situation to be as usual, instead of knowing by checking. Routine can get you killed.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

It is a shame just shows how you can get complacent even when surrounded with danger!

[@thelmagreenwood3377]

But DO remember....you can still do everything right and have Disaster strike.

[@ZGryphon]

@@thelmagreenwood3377 "In a situation in which you would have to be catastrophically unlucky to be killed, never assume you are not catastrophically unlucky."

[@oMuStiiA]

That's why checking should be part of the routine!

[@hoyden1960]

Excellent advice!

[@Amehdion]

The Cherenkov effect is stunningly beautiful, but also something you never want to see up close and in person. This guy probably knew he was doomed as soon as he saw the flash.

[@sputnik128]

We have a small 1MW reactor at my college. For a senior design project, I was assigned to a team working on a computer interface for the plant (the plant still used the same switchboard from when it was built in the 70s, so they wanted to see what we could come up with). As part of it, we got to tour the facility. I'm the only non-nuclear engineering student there. We head into the reactor with little badges on and are walking around. Suddenly the PA blurts out "ok, you should start seeing it soon." Everyone leans over the gantry and stares down in a pool of water, which begins to glow blue. "What's that?" I ask. "Cherenkov radiation!" says my team mate. "Neat - why's it doing that?" "Well the reactor is on." "IT'S WHAT?!?! WHY ARE WE STILL IN HERE?!" "Dude, relax, you'd have to be in here for, like, hours before something bad happens." Dude operating the PA was apparently a bit of a jokester. "Yeah it's only dangerous to you if it glows blue." Color drains from my face. Everyone else can't contain their laughter.

[@taraswertelecki3786]

I have seen Cerenkov radiation, from mere meters away. The nuclear reactor though was under 10 meters of ultra pure water and there was no radiation exposure of any consequence for me. It was both beautiful and menacing at the same time. At the bottom of the concrete bathub that contained both the reactor and the fuel storage area, was a 10 megawatt research reactor fueled by bomb grade U-235. The core itself was only somewhat larger than a 3 lb. coffee can.

[@nastyab8003]

@@taraswertelecki3786 if you can see it, there is danger to you. Just low levels in this case.

[@NinoNiemanThe1st]

@@sputnik128 Sounded scary! I hope your realized or learnt from this that there's an enormous difference from seeing blue glowing Cherenkov radiation in a tank (which is relatively harmless), and the blue flash (and metallic taste) you receive from a criticality incident.

[@busybillyb33]

@@nastyab8003 What you can't see we don't know! Take him closer to the reactor core! HBO Chernobyl reference

[@tngunworks9065]

You should do videos on the old Army Ammunition Plants. Several of them had serious chemical leakages.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thanks for the suggestion

[@tngunworks9065]

@@325-k9k Not sure where you're from but that's very common. Burn pits are established in high areas and then covered over after they're finished.

[@TheLtVoss]

Why does it remind me of a Chlorine trifluoride spill that is a really nasty substance discovered in 1930 in Germany and well it is a bunker killer but the 30 to 50 tones produced in Germany never have been used in war

[@flaplaya]

@@325-k9k where?

[@TheLtVoss]

@West Park in my comment I referred to Substanz N a synthetic molecul made of fluorine and Chlorine and it could be called super oxidant it will even burn down sand or water so don't even bother to extinguish it (and healthyer for sure) so even the Nazis though that stuff is too dangerous to be used in wappons And tabun, sarin, soman are a different story, scarry for sure, but they didn't use it because Hitler was against chemical warfire (as a former victim in WWI he lost his eye site temporarily) but it was put all ready in shells and bombs at least 30 tons sarin and they made a bit less than 12.000t tabun

[@Fireship1]

Scary. And sad. It’s almost inconceivable. A bright blue flash, and your no longer of this world just two short days later.

[@simonjohnhinton1938]

I guess he was feeling blue afterwards...for a short while.

[@thelmagreenwood3377]

@@simonjohnhinton1938 Had the Blues real bad? ;)

[@thelmagreenwood3377]

@Email Subjekt Thank you! Got those jokes cheap - at the K-Mart BLUE LIGHT Special.... :O

[@ro4eva]

@Fireship1 -- Yeah, it's a terrible way to go. Poor guy. We all make mistakes. I just think that the "punishment" for the mistake discussed in the video is unfairly harsh. We hear + read about these incidents, and the terrible suffering associated with them. It's no wonder why nuclear power is so controversial. That doesn't mean I'm against it. I feel that I don't know enough about it to be for or against it.

[@grmpEqweer]

@@ro4eva From what I know, I would rather minimize use of nuclear. I prefer renewables. However, nuclear actually kills very few people as opposed to coal, oil, and firewood. The particulates get into lungs. ... However, the waste may continue to be a problem, unless we create a different class of reactors that can use the waste itself. Reactors take a LOT of resources to make. They're the most expensive power on the market, whereas renewables are cheaper.

[@TheAkashicTraveller]

In my experience the main problem with strict controls are the managers. One of the managers main jobs is to make sure those under them aren't wasting time as such they'll increase the workload untill things start going wrong. They then tend to ingore employees when they complain about not being able to do things in the proper procedure given the time they have because they just don't care so long as they're meating the deliverables.

[@joryclouthier]

Nice I am a contractor that works at the NRU site! So much history! You can still see the mound of dirt where the bulldozer and trailer are burried

[@steve0592]

These accidents seem to occur when doing routine maintenance, cleaning, etc. So, just stop doing these. Problem sorted. Simple. :-)

[@jeffreyskoritowski4114]

Write that down Yuri.

[@denisohbrien]

routine is when most accidents happen, think of your commute (if you drive) when people do the same thing every day familiarity breeds complacency, people make kistakes they would never make on an unfamiliar road.

[@ilovecops6255]

MNo its the doores!

[@TylerT49]

1:30 Reason why most accidents happen, nuclear or not.

[@cerealspiller]

Closely followed by all the accidents that occur because routine maintenance wasn't done.

[@TheGreatSteve]

The words nuclear & accident should never go together.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Unfortunately the two are synonymous sometimes

[@dacypher22]

Yeah, this channel is proof that "should" is the operative word here.

[@ReverendTed]

About the only two words worse together would be nuclear and attack.

[@wanderinghistorian]

Definitely not a "happy little accident."

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

@@wanderinghistorian Well, there's nothing happy about it when you're living about 40 miles downwind of Oak Ridge. ;o)

[@jamielacourse7578]

Your work makes it obvious that the lesser- known stories can be just as interesting and horrible as the more famous events. This is one of the best sites on KZbin.

[@chesspiece81]

PD I found your channel several months ago and watched your end of year videos which I believe caught me up and I have enjoyed all your videos a great deal and you have an awesome way of explaining the processes. Thank you

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@thelmagreenwood3377]

i like the username :)

[@chesspiece81]

@@thelmagreenwood3377 why?

[@TDCflyer]

"...things had changed since the 1940's when nuclear weapons were built by hand by experts," My brain extrapolates: "Now they were built by hand by blathering idiots..."

[@TheNasaDude]

It's hard to argue with your assessment Those poor workers

[@chestersnap]

I mean, at least he wasn't trying to get closer to criticality by using a screwdriver by hand instead of spacers designed to keep everything safe. The scientists aren't always that smart either

[@leechowning2712]

Worse. Built by machines operated by less qualified science interns.

[@matthewlee8667]

Smooth jazz and nuclear accidents. My favourite genre of KZbin video

[@TotallyNotRedneckYall]

"Demon core" sounds like a genre of metal music. 🤘😈

[@Ganiscol]

That piece of metal did make music nobody would want to dance to. And not just once.

[@KathrynsWorldWildfireTracking]

There is a post-industrial song called Demon Core. It's how I first discovered the real thing.

[@alexv3357]

Perhaps an album by the band Demon Corps

[@melody-z3d]

while not the same thing, there is a grindcore/ death metal band called antichrist demoncore haha

[@thejudgmentalcat]

"Which, with my cooking skills..." Yeah, but does it glow when you take it out of the oven? 🤣

[@theymusthatetesla3186]

....have you ever SEEN one of my pies??!!!

[@FlyingSavannahs]

Can I have another piece of that delicious yellow cake?

[@gnarthdarkanen7464]

Me : Um... define "glow" {dubiously staring at pie} My Brother : You asshole! The damn thing's on fire!!! {runs for garden hose} ;o)

[@EternityForest]

Charcoal absolutely glows if you cook it hot enough!

[@tcpratt1660]

@@FlyingSavannahs New meaning to "the cake is a lie"...

[@Tishers]

How can you identify a nuclear worker? When they turn the throttle on their motorcycle the sound it makes is "REM! REM! REM!"

[@PlainlyDifficult]

😂😂

[@RyanEason1989]

... I should hate you for this joke but I'm all about it 😂😂😂

[@reubensandwich9249]

I used to work with a guy that was at Limerick when Watras set off the radation sensors fr a nuclear plant still under construction.

[@LetsTakeWalk]

That’s rad.

[@mcgherkinstudios]

My car does that so it is, in effect, true 😂😂😂

[@lostmymarbles9151]

I love these vids. I think I've watched the entire library 4 times now

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you I really appreciate it

[@FlyingSavannahs]

That could be a dangerous amount of radiation exposure.

[@lostmymarbles9151]

@@FlyingSavannahs I take potassium iodide tablets before every vid. Not great, not terrible.

[@CMDRSweeper]

Oh my! So are saying that the next PD video may be from baking going critical in Plainly Difficult's house? Well I am now eagerly awaiting the Kitchen Criticality accident! :D

[@ajfurnari2448]

"The late 1950s was a bad time for nuclear accidents" Or, a good time, depending on your interests.

[@fastinradfordable]

Nah Death by poisoning our earth ain’t cool

[@aBerlin1945]

There's never a bad time for nuclear accidents.

[@blondknight99]

Looking back its amazing how casual they were with nuclear power. I think they had no idea how quickly things can go wrong.

[@tombombadil3185]

@@blondknight99 They are too casual still. Still using shit they can't dispose of without contamination and potential criticality. The number of spent fuel pools is what nightmares are made of.

[@slypask9185]

_"depending on your interests."_ Now, this is some *extreme* BDSM...

[@chriswickett3295]

Just got off work at the coal mine this makes my job look safe

[@lordsamich755]

Yes, but it isn't. It is substantially and significantly less safe than working in a nuclear power plant.

[@LSPD1909]

@@lordsamich755 thanks for explaining the basis of his comment...

[@RyanTosh]

@@lordsamich755 Pretty sure he would know this considering it's his job

[@lordsamich755]

@@RyanTosh No not really. Unless it was his hobby to investigate the risk factors associated with nuclear power; for the purposes of developing contrast. Most people just go to work, they don't spend hours investigating the dangers of other workplaces and doing one for one comparisons.

[@RyanTosh]

@@lordsamich755 That's quite possible considering it's a comment on a KZbin video about risk factors associated with nuclear power. It was quite obviously made jokingly.

[@mojoblues66]

A question the video doesn't answer is, how could 3.2kg of Plutonium-239 become critical when the minimum mass would be 10kg? The answer is, the surrounding layer of aqueous solution acted as a neutron reflector.

[@fredrikekenborg4112]

With fissile materials in aqeous solutions you have to take in account neutron moderation. Hence, less than 0.9 kg of dissolved Pu-239 can be made critical, and as little 0.5 kg if the solution is surrounded by a water reflector.

[@wiseauserious8750]

You took the words right out of my mouth amigo..

[@Marc83Aus]

@dražen g Concentrating the material by centrifugal separation. It's literally one of the steps in concentrating reactor grade fuel.

[@Jay-ln1co]

I seem to recall something about a 3D sunburn across the sections of his head that was over the view port.

[@EK-dw5de]

Video idea: Los Alamos Lab used the wrong brand of cat litter to repackage radioactive waste, which led to a radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

[@ZonicMirage]

Yeah, I'm waiting to see that one. It shut WIPP down for nearly four years.

[@DefconMaster]

Ah yes, the time that 'going green' really seriously backfired

[@DefconMaster]

@Disobedient Nomead Yeah, I seriously doubt that the CO2 released from deicing the blades is even a tiny fraction of the amount released from burning coal or natural gas to generate power, so I'm not quite sure what your point is. And while wind turbines do inevitably kill some birds, the number is so small compared to the number killed by other causes so it's not nearly as big of an issue as the anti-wind folk try and claim it to be, and it's certainly not 'every bird that crosses their path' like you're claiming.

[@gtw4546]

Cat litter? No wonder their eyes glow in the dark. And here I thought it was their demon core.

[@blackwing97]

I thought this was a joke wtf

[@markberry8588]

It’s 12:30am in Australia, thanks for the late bedtime story.

[@pawelcitak83]

Love your stories it’s so interesting and well done 👍 I’m all ears whenever you publish a new episode, moreover your pronunciation is clear and digest. Thank you !

[@PMA65537]

What about the finger pointing to the severity scale?

[@g1g3l]

Well it's not a dissaster affecting a city/region like a nuclear power plant exploding, a landslide or a dam collapsing. It's an incidend where one person was affected. So the severity finger is not necessary here

[@77thTrombone]

Yes. This was a glaring omission of #plainlyDifficult. He must include his "we are #1" finger at least once in each video. At least the quick response guys were stepping on each other's feet.

[@donactdum6635]

Amazing video man, I love waking up to these vids, maybe you could do a new industrial disaster in the next video, gotta love toxic chemical waste lol

[@AriomKirato]

It's always mind blowing that nuclear accidents always feels really bad and dramatic, even though when we compare different accidents in different domains, it's not often that the amount of people impacted by these accidents are from nuclear sources

[@slayerofmidgets3201]

I mean as far as slow and painful goes for radiation poisoning, I'd say this was a rather fast death

[@Crosshair84]

My Grandfather took 3 weeks to die of renal failure and my aunt years from cancer. This one? Not the best way to die, but I'm not sure it would be the worst either.

[@estherstreet4582]

It would probably be no comfort to his family or anything if you said "hey he died horribly but at least it was quick, in the 90's some poor japanese bloke will have to live through it for *months*, but it's definitely on the quick and painless end of radiation sickness

[@Ganiscol]

We dont know how painful it was - at a time when sedatives were nowhere near as effective as they are today. Time stretches in pain and when your pain is a solid 10, 2 days will feel like forever.

[@Crosshair84]

@@estherstreet4582 Actually it likely would be. I've seen the effects of death on myself and my family. The short quick ones are virtually always easier on the family regardless of how much pain there was for the person dying. Alzheimers, not known for being a painful way to die, was one of the hardest on my family due to how long it took.

[@Crosshair84]

​@@Ganiscol I find it curious, this infatuation with making death by radiation poisoning one of the worst ways to die when it is simply one of many. Lucky for you, I've been there a few times for various conditions. In such pain that I find myself close to passing out. Where the medical staff offer morphine without me even asking. Where the doctor is washing up for emergency surgery. Guess what? The "Time stretches in pain" is BS. What it messes with is your MEMORY of the pain. Sometimes you remember it lasting forever. Sometimes you remember it passing quickly. Other times you don't remember it at all. This includes memories from only a few minutes ago to memories from years ago.

[@Neroonia]

I watch to hear the enthusiasm in your words, that and some coffee for agood start to any day! 11/10 would educate self again.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thanks you!

[@woopimagpie]

"Which with my cooking skills is indistinguishable". LOL I love those little throwaway lines, it's like you're testing to see if we're really paying attention.

[@TomFynn]

"nuclear" and "lower skilled workers" should never be heard in the same sentence.

[@ichaukan]

I feel like I'm not the only one here at this odd hour falling asleep watching this one odd documentary that I don't quite remember just so I'm ready for the next fresh documentary when I wake up in a few hours.

[@riiswalker367]

these videos are amazing to watch in the morning to kick start my brain. thanks man

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you!

[@gyromurphy]

Another great video. Also I just realized you released 3 years worth of videos on one upload... So I'm putting that up on the big TV that's in the sales floor of my shop.

[@FlyingSavannahs]

So do you sell radiation protection gear, or wind generators?

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thats really cool thanks!

[@P-G-77]

Awesome video, thanks.

[@mstasz2108]

Do the story about the boy scout who collected smoke alarms to harvest some radioactive stuff from them and eventually drew the attention of the feds. Though no one was hurt it was a really neat story as I recall.

[@danielle3064]

Yesss the radioactive boy scout. Teenager wrote letters to academics posing as a professor so they'd send him controlled nuclear substances! They had to evacuate the whole neighborhood while they investigated his shed! He did everything out of a 1950s textbook and had no concern for safety. His mom made him go to the shed bc he ruined the walls and carpets in his bedroom with various chemical experiments gone wrong! He wanted to make a breeder reactor! Just shows what happens when you are very smart but have no common sense

[@i-vlog1994]

I just found your channel and I love it.

[@keeganpenney169]

I actually do look forward to these on Saturday mornings, always educational!

[@thelmagreenwood3377]

Well, now that Saturday Morning Cartoons are gone, something's gotta fill the gap, right? ;)

[@NoahSpurrier]

It’s amazing how a small change in geometry can turn a thing so deadly.

[@mobiuscoreindustries]

that very much is just plutonium. Materials like Uranium or thorium are much safer since they cannot reach a critical mass easily whithout being assisted by moderators. Meanwhile plutonium is more than happy to set itself off without any help if the reactor geometry isn't well managed

[@gilangrr21]

This channel taught me that there are lots of nuclear accident, before I know your channel I genuinely thought nuclear accidents are very rare.

[@pj4433]

They are extremely rare. Think about how many mining accidents there are. How many people die just chopping down trees. They are just more dramatic and more scary. Nuclear is incredibly safe

[@MaestroBlur]

The terms 'nuclear reactor', 'mass produced' and 'lower skilled labourers' are terms you really don't want to hear used in a single sentence.

[@leechowning2712]

Unfortunately it is very hard to convince the elite scientists to stay in low paying and dangerous work... See the difference between the Mercury and Apollo missions and the shuttle operations. The first were experts in their field dedicated to a specific mission, the second were career employees who at least at times behave carelessly.

[@gruntabro1]

The Expendables springs to mind

[@EHiggins]

I have discovered that if you eat really hot spicy food watching these. It's like you are there.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

How spicy?

[@EHiggins]

@@PlainlyDifficult That heat that makes your forehead sweat before you can taste it, and for a brief moment of time you think I should not have eaten that, but it's too late, you ate it.

[@StephenJohnson-jb7xe]

You deserve a gold star.

[@Josh-vj5ip]

Love your work yessssss I share your vids as much as possible

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you I really appreciate it!

[@saragrant9749]

Lol are you trying to say you can’t cook? 😂😂 In all seriousness, your channel has been the most informative I’ve found about a lot of different topics. Great job!

[@TheOwlGuy777]

I've made the discovery that if you downvote the Google Chromebook enough, it becomes the ONLY ad you are inundated with with no ability to skip ads.

[@TheKenstarr]

Not sure how many orphan source vids you have done but they are always interesting!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

I've covered a few but I thinks there still a few to do yet!

[@zJoriz]

I've been bingewatching so many Plainly Difficult videos that I now have a little narrator in my head commenting on the stuff I do. [Turns off car ignition] "Little did he know this would have far-reaching consequences." [Fills a glass with tap water] "By this simple action he basically condemned the entire neighbourhood." [Typing an email] "Remember this, this will be important later."

[@zJoriz]

I guess I'm lucky I haven't stepped on anybody else's foot in years.

[@janicesullivan8942]

Same here. I also have Mr.Ballen’s narration in my head too, never want to be part of either site’s stories.

[@debbieannsmith8962]

What a nightmare. Prayers for his family. 😢😢😢

[@RonSeymour1]

Uranium can't be that bad. Homer Simpson has been taking it home every day and he is still alive. Seriously, these are great presentations. It seems that the 1950's went through a very expensive learning curve.

[@the_once-and-future_king.]

Well to glow that green it's evidently mostly tritium, which is an Alpha emitter. Alpha radiation is easily stopped by clothing or the thin layer of dead epidermal cells. It only becomes an issue if you ingest or inhale it.

[@RonSeymour1]

@@the_once-and-future_king. A good point. As a child in the 1950's, I was able to buy small tins, similar in size to the model enamel paint, of radium powder. We used to mix it with water and paint things with it for the glow. And of course, we wet the brush with our mouth. How times change but I am still here, unlike a lot of the Radium girls who died early.

[@furorserbica5014]

Why no mention of ‘58 Vinča incident? There’s a lot of material for this, 1st successful bone marrow transplant, subsequent disposal of waste to Mayak (massive IAEA logistical effort), remaining issues etc?

[@gregorymalchuk272]

I was impressed with the fact that they did successful bone marrow transplant in 1958, without modern immune suppressants.

[@fratercontenduntocculta8161]

While most people are intrigued by Area 51, Los Alamos most interests me. I have an uncle who who worked there as a Physicist and researcher that won't talk about what he did there, even though he assured me it wasn't that interesting. The security of that place is just as tight too. Oddly interesting, but the secrecy doesn't surprise me now I know how information is classified since I had a security clearance while in the Army myself. Thanks John!

[@RavenfluxASMR]

YES ANOTHER CRITICALITY ...I've been falling asleep to these

[@ReneSchickbauer]

3:30 I imagine the typical PD recipe contains steps like: ... Fill graphite cooking pot with fluoride salt. Put on stove at high heat until salt is completely molten. Add plutonium rod and let simmer for 30 minutes. ... Add two teaspoons Americium, stir vigorously until the bowl emits a faint blue glow. ... If smoke or radiation alarm activates, cut cable to sensor. ...

[@Kwr34538]

Love the radiation content !!! Great work and videos!

[@Ghuirm]

honestly all the nuclear accidents makes me want to learn nuclear chemistry, i find them fascinating overall

[@2Hard2Core]

Looking forward to your video about the 'Enschede Fireworks Disaster' 😉

[@BlackRavenFeather565]

“Which, with my cooking skills, is indistinguishable” such a professional delivery of a self burn 😆

[@spookydascary8972]

Subbed... On 4/5th video today already. Keep up the good work

[@PetraKann]

Useful to settle on a standard radiation exposure unit throughout all your videos so viewers can make direct comparisons. Moving from Gray to Rem to Rad to Roentgens etc can be confusing

[@bobbobbers9132]

What he went through in that 36 hours must have been pure horror. Harry Daghlian and Louis Slotin suffered even longer.

[@HumanityisEmbarrassing]

Look up Hisashi Ouchi. Probably the most painful tortured death any human has ever experienced. 84 days of pure hell. 🥺

[@evegreenification]

I was sure Stepping On Foot Guy was going to save the day!

[@PlainlyDifficult]

He's my hero!

[@deephorizon1365]

Thank you so much for putting some reference numbers for the rad doses!

[@lewmani44]

This scares me but here I am, binge watching your videos- 🤣

[@YanestraAgain]

Do you have an explanation why these fatalities are not listed by the IAEA?

[@charlesachurch7265]

Great presentation. Thanks xxx.

[@DavidCurryFilms]

I'm 5mins late to plainly difficult, getting faster though 😂. Thanks mate

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Still Not bad

[@neuralmute]

Not great, not terrible.

[@kjamison5951]

“Things had changed since the forties when nuclear weapons were built by hand, by experts. It’s said the laboratory started moving towards mass production using lower skilled workers almost like a factory line…” having worked in that type of environment. It’s all gonna end in tears and organ failure.

[@williamdunnamjr972]

Proud member of the Plainly Diffi-CULT. Another good job.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@irvan36mm]

2:46 “Nuts. Man’s gotta work” I also work in Inventory, so I can relate. 😢

[@colchronic]

Im a simple man. I see a PD video and immediately view and upvote

[@mindtouchone]

Nobody does it better than you! Starting with a blast of dramatic music and then the little face that slides in and the pointing finger along with just the right amount of sarcasm in your commentary. All of this adds a bit of dark humor to your dark reports.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thank you

[@jimtalbott9535]

It’s crazy to see all of these accidents on the US side of the Cold War, and makes me really wonder how much we DON’T know about similar incidents in the Soviet Union.

[@ocsrc]

Silkwood would be great if you can do a video of it

[@sv4647]

Please make a brief history of 'rogue waves'!!

[@dent6767]

Thanks for adding the imperial data to your videos , look forward to all you productions!

[@Electriceye1984bySam]

Awesome channel !

[@WEEZlUS]

Thank you so much for the conversion between metric and standard

[@rtrThanos]

2 days to die? That’s a long time to think about all the KZbin commercials that pissed me off and all the poor decisions that I made while watching my body parts melt away from my body.

[@terrydavis8451]

You need to add the 1997 Arzamas-16/sarov criticality accident...I cant wait for the Adrevv bay episode!!!!

[@CopenhagenRayne]

Plainly difficult reads recipe: 3 grams of salt, hmm Guess it is a salt (proceds to sprinkle plutonium salts in the mixer)

[@RyanTosh]

It also calls for a quarter cup of water, but all he has is heavy water.

[@bmstylee]

He's just trying to make a yellowcake. Be easy on him.

[@roggi2620]

Fantastic work!!

[@arterialblue4535]

Is there a video of a criticality power excusion that is not a reactor startup?

[@Banidil]

I appreciate the research you do. Great stuff. I would offer suggestion but you probably done em lol. I do rabbit hole session on youtube and I go from old to new. Have you ever done the "accident" where we lost WMDs off the coast of the country? It wasnt an explosion but it's a fun story. Off of N.C. I think

[@tnwnl]

Nothing like a cheery English voice telling you "We're back with another criticality accident 🙂"

[@nameofthegame9664]

I don’t know why but I don’t get notified when you post new videos. I have the notification bell clicked but still youtube keeps me in the dark.

[@PlainlyDifficult]

Thats a shame! Theres a new video next week at 2pm GMT

[@cathrinewhite7629]

4:33 So was the criticality initiated due to Cecil Kelly's jostling of the container, when he climbed up on the step to watch the mixing- or was it from mixing it too fast??

[@leonardoariewibowo1325]

Hello, are you going to cover some of the broken arrow accident? Like the one in spain?

[@frankb389]

Hey, by chance is there a video explaining the exposure of radioactivity, Rads, etc,. It would be a good idea

[@SuperLordHawHaw]

Inexperience brings the danger of ignorance, experience brings the danger of excessive familiarity

[@mkbarber65]

It is amazing how many accidents there have been. I’m live in Canada and have only been watching for a short time so I apologize if you have covered this already, but have there been any nuclear accidents in Canada and if so how many?

[@genekelly8467]

Plenty-Google Port Radium. Uranium was mined there in the 1950s, and the tailings dumped in the open. The whole area is dangerous now, and the local people cannot eat the fish there. Chalk River also had its share of accidents and leaks.

[@aalhard]

Never change You are too good 👍

[@praxisvoiceworks]

Thank you for warning us about your cooking. Possibly the most important point you made. 😆👍

[@thelmagreenwood3377]

Really? I haven't received my Dinner Invite from Plainly Difficult yet, so i have zero worries... :)

[@ddalton8754]

I’m literally watching all your nuclear videos

[@Orukamachi]

Don't ask me how but I completely missed this one at release! Another interesting case.

[@dosvidanyagaming4123]

Hey I'm looking for an accident I remember hearing about on this channel (i think), and all I remember about it is that the contaminated room was walled off and forgotten for years before being rediscovered and decontamination could start

[@thelmagreenwood3377]

Did you ever find this article?

[@dosvidanyagaming4123]

@@thelmagreenwood3377 nope

[@thelmagreenwood3377]

@@dosvidanyagaming4123 That's a shame, if you ever do, i would also be interested.

[@SoWhat1221]

That would probably be the McCluskey room, from the video about the Atomic Man.