Windscale: The British Chernobyl

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Source/Further reading:
The Guardian, Sellafield stories: www.theguardian.com/environme...
Telegraph, Windscale: we were too busy to panic (paywall): www.telegraph.co.uk/news/scie...
Guardian, from Windscale to Sellafield: www.theguardian.com/environme...
Sellafield, official UK government history: nda.blog.gov.uk/2018/09/07/wh...
How John Cockroft’s filters avoided a nuclear disaster: www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-c...
History of the UK atomic project: www.atomicheritage.org/histor...
Tom Tuohy obituary: www.theguardian.com/environme...
Wired, inside Sellafield: www.wired.co.uk/article/sella...
BBC on THORP: www.bbc.com/news/business-463...
History of Calder Hall: www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-c...

[@geographicstravel]

Check out Squarespace: squarespace.com/GEOGRAPHICS for 10% off on your first purchase.

[@TheZankoh]

Ever thought about doing the Santa Susana Open field reactor? The multiple melt downs, and burning of toxic waste in open air pits was a greater environmentally; allegedly.

[@daniels5607]

I live near it.

[@andrewfrancis3591]

My uncle worked there. He always said to joke that although it was safe they all wore lead underpants. Unfortunately he died of leukaemia in his early fifties.

[@firefox5926]

17:06 hi from Australia cough cough lol

[@george.l2593]

Oh so here it is.

[@anonymousrex5207]

"Meltdown is one of those annoying buzz words...we prefer to think of this as an unwanted energy surplus"- C.M. Burns

[@jamesmueller8701]

D'OH

[@NateCristofori]

I was saying Booo-urns

[@iamthestig1]

@@NateCristofori Excellent

[@ethangatenby2547]

Took me a minute to realise who that was

[@gooner72]

Excellent.....

[@brianc4695]

3:52 gosh I can't imagine how building a nuclear facility as fast as possible could backfire

[@warailawildrunner5300]

Been past it a few times when I was a kid.. it's only about an hour away on train... a very slow train that goes miles around the coast. It's not very impressive as they're in the process of removing it.

[@Redsauce101]

@@warailawildrunner5300 Are they replacing it with a new train?

[@warailawildrunner5300]

@@Redsauce101 Lol no. It's not an electrified line so only diesel's will run on it... and it's a fairly old line so ... probably not. Also have to take into account the viaducts too - if the wind is too much and the tide is in, it can literally be too dangerous for a train to even head up that way.

[@adder3597]

@@warailawildrunner5300 Indeed. Pile 2's chimney has been gone for a few decades, Pile 1 is still being dismantled. Odds are those reactors won't be decommissioned and dismantled this side of 2050.

[@Kylem6875]

@@adder3597 They took down the Pile 2 chimney in 2001 and it only took around 10 days. Pile 1 is taking a while mainly because of an accident that occurred around 2003 that stopped the project for a few years, and of course the fact the inside of the chimney is contaminated. Both piles had steel encasement buildings constructed around the reactor halls around 1998.

[@hollywollydownton]

I spoke to my Grandpa after watching this video as I knew he worked in nuclear power and it turns out he was at Windscale the day of the disaster! His specialty was metallurgy and he was asked to help out after the disaster (he travelled to all the power plants in the country so wasn't always at Windscale). It was his idea to use ceramic instead of metal for the casing or something to help contain it afterwards. When I was little I used to tell people he saved the world and I guess he kind of did!

[@youtubeisfullofnerds5767]

Another bullshit story on the internet

[@petrolhead0387]

@@youtubeisfullofnerds5767 it's funny because, she's right. I didn't know it was her grandpa who gave them the idea, but it later evolved into Vitrification of radioactive waste, essentially turning it into glass. Oh and, I actually work at sellafield, so call me out as well you salty little bitch.

[@thomaswilliamfirby180]

Your proud of your grandad and that’s really nice as not many people are proud of their heritage.

[@JasonSighn]

@GrayWolf2036 100%

[@jamessveinsson6006]

@@youtubeisfullofnerds5767 Without verification on your end I wish you keep your foul mouth language to yourself and verify your facts before you put anybody else on blast how dare you

[@Jimbojo]

I'm surprised you didn't mention the fact that the pile was air cooled and it was switching off the cooling fans (very late) which almost certainly averted disaster and allowed the water quenching to work. The fact that no-one appeared to realise for quite a long time that blowing air over a fire may be exascerbating the problem is quite remarkable. Anyway, great video love the channel.

[@EgonFreeman]

As far as I know, the fans were basically switched off to allow the core to release the stored Wigner energy (by heating the graphite up). They switched the blowers on to try and extinguish the fire, but quickly realised that it was a bad idea (the fire was too big to be "blown out" and all it was doing was fanning the flames), and switched them back off. They really didn't want a hydrogen explosion (which is quite devastating, and something that happened in Chornobyl, most likely, after the core "uncorked itself" through steam pressure), so they held off on hosing the pile down - in view of that, cooling it with air seemed like the infinitely more preferable option, really.

[@PaulWerkema]

The first time I ever heard "The reactor is critical" I was on a submarine and I asked if it was a good thing or a bad thing. Near the end of the five years I was stationed on submarines I finally asked why all the terminology concerning the reactor made it sound like we were all about to die.

[@davidringle7]

First off thank you for your service. Second it sounds like that because you were lol

[@TinyBearTim]

Prob because of what happens if you break It

[@tombruner9634]

I seem to recall them mentioning that in sub school. I'm sure not everyone was paying attention.

[@colinsmith1495]

The basic answer is because if someone needs to mention it, you probably are.

[@jdb47games]

What was the reactor critical of? It should probably keep its opinions to itself.

[@dominusetdeus060644]

Day 7: "I've lost count of all the videos simon put out. All is simon. All is knowledge"

[@YeeSoest]

Yep, my "watch later" has more Simon-related entries than my list of stuff to do with actual friends after Covid and that's after more than a month since I noticed I can do racing games and listen to Biographics at the same time^^

[@brysonbaker2314]

@@YeeSoest Learning and Lapping one of my favorite pastimes

[@XYGamingRemedyG]

New here, huh? 😄 Welcome

[@sparkpenguin]

WELCOME friend!

[@MelniaShadow]

All is Simon. Some is the Blaze

[@merwindor]

Parallel universe would have had Simon with no beard and a full head of hair.

[@furygeist]

I don't like visualizing that.

[@surferdude4487]

When the beard grows long enough, he's going to comb it back over his head.

[@hansmuller1625]

I prefer the goatee universe.

[@stuartdixon4524]

Like bob ross without the gruff

[@AaronF2112]

He looked decent back in the day. He had long hair and was clean shaven, but no longer

[@DeliriumzzZ]

Tom Tuohy is the true definition of a hero. He was someone who was intelligent enough to know that what sticking his head over that pile could do to him, yet he still just went ahead and did it. It's pretty sad that he didn't even get some sort of recognition from the country. It wouldn't make him live longer, but at least it's something that his family could always cherish.

[@Istandby666]

There are no heros. Wake up and get over yourself

[@billyaitken7461]

The UK has a solid history of not celebrating those who salvage disasters or discovering embarrassing blunders and avoiding future catastrophes…… I found an IRA sympathiser, halfway through building a bomb - who was living on a military base. He’d left his garage door up and I had a mooch inside & found a hollowed-out radio on a bench, next to it was a ‘Parkway timer’ and a mercury tilt switch. So, after an informal cordon and a low-key EORT attendance one half-assembled bomb was removed and one male was dragged off in handcuffs by the Special Branch. No celebration, no citation, informal thanks and told not to discuss anything that happened. This was in the early 2000’s, not the 70’s or 80’s😖!! Hide the embarrassing & tell the heroes not to talk about it all 🇬🇧😞.

[@AstraRune]

Tom Tuohy lived into his 90s. He’s not just a hero, he’s an incredible lucky hero.

[@tylerthompson5859]

I know I'm two years late, but I don't care. That's stupid that real heroes aren't recognized in Britain. Like: Great Britain: "good job, never talk about it. Also, we're not recognizing you for literally almost saving the world." America: "yeah, this pig squealed for 20 mins because the house was on fire, waking his family, and saving all their lives. We have the pig here for an interview." *ACTUALLY HOLDS THE MICROPHONE TO THE PIG'S MOUTH*

[@kristinepfs]

I have always found this particular nuclear accident fascinating. The documentary "Our Reactor is on Fire" is particularly good.

[@zapfanzapfan]

Yepp, good one.

[@kristinepfs]

@Darth Wheazius HAHAHA!! Yes!!! And the best showcase of classic British accents!!

[@lasersailor6684]

When I was at college I did an internship at the Atomic Energy Research Establishment Harwell and my thesis was on the distribution of radionuclides in the environment - specifically Cesium 137 from the Windscale release. We found this radioisotope had leached down into the soil around the region with the largest concentrations correlated to rainfall during the episode. When we were driving around our Geiger counters went crazy when we crossed streams. Ah, good times. I’ve still got my thesis report.

[@grahamross6397]

Wasn't alive for Windscale but I do remember school ushering us indoors as the air-raid siren sounded after Chernobyl and the TV news warned of acid rain. Flipping cold war was a paranoia fest. Dead sheep, melted bus shelters, etc. Ah the life of a GenX.

[@MannnisEi]

Tom was kind of a genius. "We need someone to climb the tower, see whats going on, and report back so we can form a plan" "I'll do it" later "So, what is the situation?" "Shit's on fire, we should use water"

[@blackhat4206]

Good thing he decided against trying the same on that grease fire… He’s a legend.

[@ignitionfrn2223]

1:30 - Chapter 1 - Atomic betrayal 4:45 - Chapter 2 - Follies & inaccuracies 7:45 - Mid roll ads 9:20 - Chapter 3 - Smoke on the water 13:10 - Chapter 4 - Fire in the sky 17:30 - Chapter 5 - The poison room

[@DxBlack]

Yeah, they're clearly not adding these to the description so we can't skip the stupid SquardSpace ad we've seen and hear over 100 times

[@andrewharper1609]

Nicely done.

[@Foxhound141_67]

3:23 jojo references

[@keiffitz689]

Don’t forget deeppurple

[@SpruceParsley80]

0-3-5

[@adamcadovius4566]

Love how Simon didn’t even pause when describing the reactor going critical like it’s not a bad thing. Because it’s not.

[@anydaynow01]

I know right, though he could have just said it reached steady state power, instead he had to use the "scary" word.

[@maivaiva1412]

I think most people know that? I'm not sure though lol

[@stevenschnepp576]

@@maivaiva1412 Most people seem to have the impression that a reactor going critical is scary and bad.

[@matthewc3394]

@@stevenschnepp576 ssssh don’t say critical that means an impending 💣 💥

[@Chris-hx3om]

A reactor being 'critical' just means it's reach a self sustaining state of fission, where there's more energy coming out than going in. It's how a nuclear pile is supposed to work!

[@JoelReid]

Often missed in Project Hurricane... the fallout fell across half of Australia. People in the North West of Australia had significantly higher rates of tumor cancer if they were alive during that event. The subsequent tests in South Australia contaminated local indigenous and UK/Austrlaian workers as well. The irony... UK uranium was sourced in Australia (Austrlaia has the largest deposits in teh world), tested in Australia, and hurt Australians... unsurprisingly, Australia avoids having their own nuclear weapons and now has a policy to not sell their uranium for anything except peaceful purposes.

[@andrewlitt5429]

Tom Touhy not only had balls of steel, but it was not the water that put the fire out. It was actually turning of the reacter fans, and the fire died down.

[@Newt.--.Jaeden]

My Grandfather worked at the Dounreay Nuclear Plant in Scotland while this happened. He was brought down to help them with the situation. (I don't know *any* of the science or what he did, but it's still neat)

[@niknoks7638]

I’m guessing here but you’re grandfather may have been trained in Radiological Protection (called Health Physics Monitors in those days) using radiation instruments to detect radiological contamination and decontaminate secondary plant. I have experience within the nuclear industry 😉

[@HeloWarLord]

Both my granddad's worked at Dounreay, well one worked at Dounreay the other worked at Vulcan. Very interesting place.

[@Newt.--.Jaeden]

@@niknoks7638 I know some of the stuff my Grandfather worked on, but it was some "top secret" (not really anymore but at the time) stuff. He was part of Nuclear Weapons Research and stuff, quit and took a Job in Dounreay to be closer to family (we live in Thurso so it't not far) but was called down to Windscale to help out. He passed away about a decade ago from natural causes (peacefully) but I'm sure he'd love to tell you all about it

[@niknoks7638]

@@Newt.--.Jaeden ......so sad your grandfather has passed, it would have been very interesting to hear his stories 🙏👍

[@cumberland1234]

@Darth Wheazius I believe Tom Tuohy also went to Australia but has now sadly passed, I think he was 90.

[@ninjabreadman8166]

Thank you to the writers for the anime references and to Simon for saying them so smoothly!

[@DemonEyes23]

lol the best thing is Simon 100% has no idea what he's referencing as he doesn't watch anime 😂.

[@raykewin3608]

Went on a school trip in the 90s. Stood on top of the reactor. Looked into the cooling pools, they really do glow blue.

[@niknoks7638]

That effect is called ‘Cherenkov Radiation’........Cherenkov radiation is defined as the electromagnetic radiation emitted when a charged particle (emitted from the fissile nuclear fuel cooling in the pond water) moves through a dielectric medium (water) faster than the velocity of light within the same medium (water). The effect releases a blue glow which is quite stunning when you switch off the pond facility lights. Your actually witnessing the speed of a ‘charge particle’ travelling through water FASTER than the speed of light. Explained by Einstein in his theory of ‘special relativity’. Before the age of the terrorist threat, we used to accept visitors on guided tours at our power station and they all used to give a big “Oooooooo” when we turned the lights out 😁.

[@raykewin3608]

@@niknoks7638 Yes, I know. The trip also came with a full on physics lesson.

[@niknoks7638]

@@raykewin3608 ......so pleased you enjoyed your visit years ago, I really am.....sorry for the ‘tek no ology’ response to your experience but being an ‘old hand’ as such to the industry, I get a buzz when someone has a positive from visiting one of our British nuclear sites......believe me, nuclear power is, and must be, part of our national diversity for an increasingly demanding population for electrical power.......if we want to decrease our ‘carbon’ footprint on life we need to embrace Nuclear......yes the ratio of risk is higher in an emergency but statistically nuclear emergency’s are very rare compared to other industrial manufacturers......Ok the radiological ‘waste products’ are more hazardous and expensive to dispose off, but that expense is insignificant to the profit a fully running nuclear power plant can produce over 30 - 40 years.....plus nuclear tek’ is advancing regards decommissioning all the time....good chat, stay safe 😉👍

[@antonycharnock2993]

I visited in the late 90's with university. Visitor centre is interesting but the bus trip round the site shows you nothing apart from the massive buildings "This is the THORP facility. It does this etc" How did you manage to stand on the reactor & look at the cooling ponds?

[@cumberland1234]

I don’t think the public would have been allowed anywhere near the Windscale, nor their cooling ponds. I don’t think they allow any workers under 18 in there either.

[@johntrottier1162]

Love your work. Unfortunately, you missed on part of the story. The water from hoses was tried, but it did not work. The fire was put out when Tom Touhy, after seeing the water was not doing the job, convinced management to turn off the fans and shut down the cooling air to the reactor. This deprived the fire of oxygen and put out the fire. The use of air cooling for the reactor set the stage for the accident. Rather than using water, as was done by the Americans at Hanford, the British used air cooling because it was faster and cheaper. They did not want to go to the expense of setting up a water cooling system. That decision was the source of the comment "it was a dodgy design from the beginning"

[@larry-naylor]

Windscale is a reminder of the dangers of hubris and how important it is to listen to the experts. The alternate reality that Simon alluded to was frightening and needs to be avoided at all costs.

[@boffingeorge]

Find true facts not scaremongering what a load of rubbish

[@WhiteWolf-lm7gj]

@@boffingeorge And you have the true facts?

[@briangarrow448]

I originally thought I was pathetically clueless about the Windscale debacle and coverup. I feel even worse about not knowing this JoJo person.

[@ToastGhost]

Oh Brain you are in for quite the Bizarre Adventure

[@davidringle7]

Your not alone my brother lol

[@blairfleming5861]

well that just wont stand

[@UnlimitedGreenWorks]

Neither can johnny and polnareff

[@Steezy_Edits]

Be glad you’re not a weeb

[@OnboardG1]

"If you think that's far fetched... well you've never lived in the UK".

[@frankiesynth9065]

I’m from very near here - Barrow in Furness This was insane to watch because: 1. I have been cycling around this area before when I was about 10 with my grandmother and not ONCE was it mentioned! 2. My grandad was a ‘scientist’ at Sellafield and I was never really told what he did, but now I sort of understand why It’s crazy how little the kids of the surrounding areas know about this tragedy, and that we’re still paying the price 60 years later, with a lot of cancer deaths linked back to it/ asphalt poisoning from factories in Barrow

[@richardkell4888]

Can you expand on asphalt poisoning please.

[@Alphoric]

Everyone’s grandad was a scientist there very strange

[@boffingeorge]

You do exaggerate i lived in Millom and worked at Eskmeals

[@boffingeorge]

​@@Alphoric my mate lofty Wiseman said the balcony in the embassy raid would have have been the size of wembley to accommodate all the people... remember...success has many fathers...failures have none

[@debbiekerr3989]

This is the first I've heard of windscale, and I appreciate your taking the time to inform us about this disaster.

[@Chris-hx3om]

Watch a show of the 80s called 'Edge of Darkness'... (The Bob Peck/Joanne Whalley version, not the Mel Gibson version)

[@debbiekerr3989]

@@Chris-hx3om I found a great nine part miniseries on utube, and that was very interesting and informative. I will also look for the movie you suggested.

[@Chris-hx3om]

@@debbiekerr3989 Not a movie, a 6 part BBC miniseries.

[@mdreedify]

"Guys, I split the gd atom!! If I say filters..." LOVE the senses of humour on your channels Simon.

[@brianartillery]

I wrote an essay on the 1957 fire when I was at school in the early 1970's. I was told, by a teacher that it had never happened. I told him that he was wrong. He asked me how I'd got the idea, and I said that it had been mentioned on a TV show. He told me that it was complete fiction and, that I should write about something else. I told my parents about it, and they both remembered it - my father drove tour coaches at the time, to the lakes and Scotland, and he remembered it well, as his company had changed the routes he used normally to avoid the immediate area. I have always wondered if that teacher had been a Civil Servant at the time, and was still in denial over it? I do also remember feeling 'short changed' over atomic power stations - you imagine that there has to be some fantastic science generating that power - and then you discover that it's basically a bloody great kettle, making steam.

[@--enyo--]

Your Geographics writers are great. I love how so many Geographics videos bring in philosophical/ethics questions that we need to consider.

[@anydaynow01]

Well Simon bashes nuclear power as badly as someone who failed out of a nuclear training program (not that I suppose he was involved in one) so it doesn't surprise me he tries to get his jabs in whenever he can.

[@coconutsmarties7916]

​@@anydaynow01 No, he really doesn't. He isn't anti nuclear at all - and nothing in this video indicates that he is.

[@eldrago19]

"In the event of a nuclear plant melting down, there's only one thing you can do. Rename it. To Sellafield." - Spitting Image

[@gordonlawrence1448]

Do you remember the "windscale flakes" spoof advert of Ready-Brek"?

[@annescholey6546]

Bad taste humour. A lot of Cumbrians ended up with leukaemia.

[@mikez2779]

it wasn't a meltdown. it was a fire inside of the reactor. it wasn't a nuclear power plant - it didn't have any civilian use. its sole purpose was to make plutonium for the bombs.

[@Redsauce101]

@@annescholey6546 Burned metal taste Ready-Brek?

[@Skraeling1000]

.. and radiation will now be known as magic pixie beams.

[@ryan.oconnor]

Watching Simon for over 2 years now, and I have to say, the beard progression has been nothing short of spectacular.

[@deviantoutcast]

Agreed! It's grown into possibly the Best Beard on KZbin - or at least among the Top5. Easily! And, it's the only beard I know of that is an actual cult leader with its own following. Not bad, if you ask me!

[@Philippadrinkstea]

So despite the fact that I live in the UK and have friends working at Sellafield, I've only just learnt that Windscale (which I studied during my Chemical Engineering degree) is the same place. Doh!

[@legionchef]

Yeah same here. Have family that live near Millom/Barrow. whilst I’ve heard of the accident, it’s barely mentioned by the media.

[@nlwilson4892]

Technically they're slightly different bits of the same site (it is a huge place) but then the Sellafield name took over the whole site when it became Sellafield Ltd. Not relevant to most people but site workers sometime make the distinction when talking about which part of site they work on.

[@Philippadrinkstea]

@@nlwilson4892 and now I can impress them by knowing this fact. Cheers! 😁

[@jameswhitehead6758]

Megaprojects: Tube Alloys.

[@--enyo--]

Seconded

[@colinwomble931]

Third, this would be a good one

[@ianc7866]

Agree! That would but geeky and interesting!

[@brocluno01]

Fourth !!

[@brianartillery]

Tube Alloys is a very interesting subject. It's base, in Rhydymwyn, Flintshire, in Wales, was also the site of a huge Mustard Gas factory and storage area, housed in a set of deep tunnels in a mountain. That's all you get. It's up to Simon for the rest.

[@amon_san]

everyone: in the comments raving on about obscure anime references. me: huh, "smoke on the water" "fire in the sky" nice allusion to a Deep Purple classic. :-)

[@eternaldarkness3139]

Misheard lyrics: Slow motion Walter... Fire engine guy...

[@rikofebri627]

that is also jojo reference

[@paulshaum3421]

Actually it’s a deep purple reference made by Jojo

[@allRadioactive]

All nuclear accidents have one thing in common, cost cutting...

[@jackfanning7952]

One other thing: a totally new substance on earth; man-made fission by-products.

[@lasersailor6684]

...and anti nuclear activists making the plants as expensive as possible

[@jackfanning7952]

@@lasersailor6684 We don't have to make them expensive. The nukies do that. You are your own worst enemy. That is why nuclear is becoming extinct.

[@mattg5878]

@@jackfanning7952 "extinct" 🤣😂 that's why we are about to have 2 new stations which will generate 20% of the UKs electricity until 2080 at the earliest. And much of the current fleet are being extended until 2030.

[@jackfanning7952]

@@mattg5878 Yeah. And I feel sorry for you because the UK has signed an agreement with Hinkley Point to provide power at 0.16 per kilowatt hour when solar costs 6-7 cents per kilowatt hour. U.S, D.O.E. says wind power is 2.5 cents per kilowatt hour. The UN International Energy Agency estimates solar at 4 cents a kilowat hour All the large financial institutions that provide funding loans for power utility construction say that nuclear is no longer economically competitive with renewables , including the biggest, Lazard, that says utility-scale solar is 6 cent per kilowat hour. Tesla Powerpack for $3,500 per home and Powerwall for utilities cost about 2 cents per kilowatt hour for storage for when the wind doesn't blow or the sun doesn't shine. Tesla sold 100,000 Powerwalls in 2020. They cannot expand production fast enough to keep up with demand, they are flying off the sales shelves so fast. Long after the rest of us are basking in cheap renewable energy, you guys will still have that ancient dinosaur nuclear technology sucking all your money down the drain and the threat of another Windscale. How big is the radioactive tailings piles and spent fuel piles in the UK. Thge nuclear option is too expensive and too slow to replace fossil fuels. See ya'. Wouldn't want to be ya. Don't call Uncle Sugar when it melts down, chump.

[@MattNolanCustom]

I'd have to watch the "Our reactor is on fire" documentary again to be more sure, but I think the emissions from the poorly designed and maintained filters, and some of the fuel casings pushed out the back that didn't fall in the pool but lodged in the airways were actually more (albeit over a longer period of time, during normal operation) than what was emitted during the fire. Would have been different of course had the fire not been brought under control. Giant balls of steel. Great line 🙂

[@cumberland1234]

The milk was poured away owing to the release of radioactive iodine. This has a fairly short half life but if it taken into the human body it accumulates in the thyroid and can cause thyroid cancer, thus the reason for getting rid milk from farms in the local areas.

[@shilka7020]

"Or Joseph Joestar being the best JoJo" This is, indeed, objective fact.

[@keremgulbin9142]

I was more of a Part 4 Josuke guy.

[@MrDoYouKnowMe2211]

Jotaro. Every time.

[@mat_meth]

Johnny Joestar reigns supreme

[@emavaz18]

I I would have to throw my hat in for Jotaro, but I will also contend that if it wasn't for Jonathan Joestar, none of that story would continue.

[@roybatty9935]

Jotaro is the most overrated JoJo. Another objective fact. Joseph is what made JoJo's a meme powerhouse.

[@catherine5939]

Households in Ireland received a safety booklet and some iodine tablets in the wake of this. My mam remembers getting it in the post and reading it out to the family. The advice in it included staying inside for a few days and putting newspaper over the windows to stop the radiation getting in.

[@crobulous9581]

Solid advice, alpha radiation, which would be the issue with such a release, can be stopped by paper due to its particle size, the issue is if it gets into the body via a cut etc, as it then can't get back out so causes loads of issues ie cancer, it's beta and gamma that are the ones that need concrete/lead/water shielding.

[@HE-pu3nt]

6:43. It vapourised quite a bit of HMS Plym, but not all of it. Half a dozen pieces have been found in the floor of the crater in the the basin, but your not allowed to start digging anything up. More interesting, is that a lot of ships parts were found on the surrounding islands after the test. I've spoken to a few veteran's who helped remove the equipment that was left behind. They've told me that several large holes were dug and all the parts of the ship, plus anything else that was contaminated were dumped in to them. No record of where those dumps were situated appears to have been kept. Great video! So many people have no idea about this accident.

[@CrashM85]

From what i have heard, it wasn't the water that put the fire out, but turning off the air fans that were used to control the tempriture of the pile (while also fanning the flames)

[@amaccama3267]

Ah yes the good man Cockcroft. Responsible for turning a potential Chernobyl into a meer 3 Mile Island.

[@Kyzrath]

Hot and spicy casserole... by the yard.

[@AlexOnTheBus]

Welcome to The Technical Difficulties...

[@paulsheehan4383]

..into a mere 3 Mile Island.....

[@hansmuller1625]

@@paulsheehan4383 Not quite sure what you mean with that, but all things being equal the TMI accident ultimately shows the safety systems work. The reactor was destroyed, people got scared, but ultimately no one was hurt.

[@paulsheehan4383]

@@hansmuller1625 I was pointing out the spelling mistake of "meer" in the original post.

[@lordpumpkinhead265]

3:16 Simon saying that Joseph Joestar being the best JoJo caught me off guard. It's not wrong, but it did catch me off-guard.

[@newtagwhodis4535]

Amazing videos my man! Thank you for sharing your great works!

[@HarryWessex]

For my Undergrad I went to Plymouth, they don't tell us they test the Alarms at the Devenport base which holds Nuclear Subs, so when you he the basic "air-raid" siren for the 1st time, it does worry you a bit.

[@gregorythomas1767]

Great video Simon. Very well done. Could you do a video on the Three Mile Island Incident in 1979 and on the 1978 Willow Island Disaster?

[@ARIXANDRE]

We know about Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. How the heck did we not know about Windscale???

[@owenshebbeare2999]

Probably just an American thing, it is very well known in Europe.

[@deadarmd]

It isn't taught in German and Dutch schools?

[@TheMHB199]

@@owenshebbeare2999 I'm english and live not far from here. First I've ever heard of it. Propoganda and cover ups will be the main reasons.

[@peterkennette9865]

What about Fermi I in 1954 outside Detroit?

[@robinhood5627]

I knew of it all my life.

[@straswa]

Great vid Geographics, never heard of Windscale. Thanks for the useful info.

[@markt.3454]

Fascinating!! First I've heard of any of this. Another great video!

[@squadalawereoff1]

If Simon declared Joseph the best jojo, who are we to argue?

[@paddyneill1964]

The thing that I find fascinating is that up until I saw this video, I’ve never heard of this. I went to high school, read books…a lot, and know a lot of useless information about the world. I love Europe. I try to stay somewhat informed. I’d fair well on Jeopardy 🤓. But there is SO much more information out there that in my 57 years I haven’t even tipped the scales. You and your crews are doing great jobs with the video content Simon. Bravo Zulu folks, keep up the great work . Peace Love & Groovies to everyone 😎

[@MrHistorian123]

This omits a key point. The accident was caused by a deliberate overheating of the core. In a graphite moderated reactor, neutron collisions with graphite atoms cause some of those atoms to be displaced from their normal position in the graphite lattice, moving them into a higher energy metastable position. This is known as Wigner energy. Knowing that a substantial amount of Wigner energy was stored in the pile, the decision was made to heat the core above normal temperatures, which would enable the graphite atoms to move back into their stable position. As soon as this energy was released, the reactor control rods would be reinserted and the cooling fans turned up to cool the core. Unfortunately, when this was done, temperature sensors in several fuel channels detected the temperature still rising, indicating that the graphite had caught fire. (Interestingly, during construction of the core, several workers had taken offcuts of graphite home to burn on their fires. They had stubbornly refused to burn!). There was an excellent article in New Scientist in Apr 1982 which gave a first hand account of the fire and the Heath Robinson approach to tackling it, written by one of the senior engineers on site (New Scientist. Apr 17. 6. 6 Herbert, R. (1982). 'The Day the Reactor Caught Fire') One thing is sure: had it not been for Cockcroft's Follies, the accident would have been hugely more serious.

[@stuartreadman118]

Thanks for the video, really interesting, but worrying at the same time

[@aaronkellyuk]

Me all the way through this video. Heh, they're down the road.

[@sandybarnes887]

At least you finally realized it

[@furygeist]

"I'm in danger." 😂

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Why did the scientist at Chernobyl cry? Because he was going through a meltdown

[@dalaanibombina8822]

Yuk yuk yuk.

[@mikespicer4827]

Pretty crap joke really, seen better in Christmas crackers.

[@mragrego1]

@@mikespicer4827 bellend

[@Robslondon]

Excellent video, thank you for bringing these names to light.

[@MrGadgt]

I can’t stop watching, listening, learning! I’m addicted to these videos. So much to know!

[@Henchman1977]

"Problems; plural" Four Rooms

[@alelelelelelele]

"Gigantic balls of steel" Yes he did bring them, indeed

[@markbrodie2784]

Great show! He is a great narrator and really well spoken and smart!

[@tensevo]

Great video mate, thought provoking and balanced.

[@colchronic]

Water didn't put it out, they switched off the fans to kill the fire

[@ThePrimo80s]

This is true. 👍

[@deezelfairy]

A lot of this was completely wrong or inaccurate at best. Shoddy research, especially as there are a couple of very detailed documentaries on KZbin about Windscale with many of the mentioned people actually speaking! 😂 Also the government didn't cover it up in the sense that 'it didn't happen'. They blamed the plant workers, that was the cover up.

[@petrolhead0387]

Yeah, this one is full of holes, they only flooded the reactor after the fire had suffocated, in order to cool the remaining plutonium.

[@DownwithEA1]

Never heard of this before so thanks for making the video. Also just learned about the US spreading radiation across the country & how Kodak of all things found out.

[@bobvincent5921]

Thanks. Top notch presentation.

[@ronsloan7662]

Great video Simon!

[@amb163]

My dad was born and raised just a 20 min drive away, in Ravenglass. He was eight years old when this happened and all he remembers is that no one made a big deal of it at the time. He didn't learn how bad it was until much, much later. Compare that to my own experience of Chernobyl -- I was seven years old, living in a uranium mining town in Canada, and I knew *exactly* how bad it was because everyone was talking about it non-stop. [Edit: By the way, my grandfather, who lived there for about 50 years, died of an extremely painful, extremely vicious form of bone cancer.]

[@nlwilson4892]

Sorry to hear that. You should know that whilst commercial milk was destroyed those producing their own weren't told there was any problem. So probably local produce was being eaten and drank with no-one realising there was an issue with it.

[@PRmoustache88]

Bone cancer, a terrible way to go. My sympathies.

[@jamespowell7302]

@@nlwilson4892 Hardly. My mum lived at Deescales when the incident happened, and the local farmers were all told to dump the milk. I understand that the radius was set at ~30 miles from Windscale. AM B, Elliot Lake or Rabbit Lake ? If EL, I had a photo of mum swimming at Seascale after the incident, with the Folly's in the background. It turns out, the water was warm in more than one way...

[@nlwilson4892]

@@jamespowell7302 Are you just thinking of farmers producing milk commercially though? I'm talking about the ones with sheep farms or small holdings that would have a few hens and a goat or two for their own consumption.

[@LarryPhischman]

You forgot about the part where the managers took all the credit for putting out the fire, and the engineers were blamed for everything that led to the fire.

[@MsBhappy]

which only backfired bc now people don't trust the industry or the engineers who are highly intelligent and know nuclear power to be safe and sustainable.

[@danielevans5286]

Fascinating topic, found it really enlightening.

[@frequencymanipulator]

Very well-researched. Splendid.

[@chrisosh9574]

I worked at Windscale in the late seventies, on pond five. It has saved me a fortune in electricity bills, I can read in bed without the light on or a torch!

[@Boneychuck]

10:45 Attack on Titan, love that show!

[@ticcusagram]

I love your videos. Many thanks. An interesting subject if I may suggest would be the lone German U-boat which managed to sneak past the British fleet and sink ships including the Royal Oak in Scapa flow in Orkney where the majority of the fleet was kept during WW2. Regards x

[@kyleburlette2196]

Bro you killed this. I’m so very glad I found this channel... much love and respect from NOLA aka New Orleans Louisiana

[@Alicerparkin]

My great grandfather was the one who actually raised the alarm at Sellafield. His boss got all the credit when he had been asleep at the time.

[@richardkell4888]

Interesting to hear, thankyou for sharing!

[@zmanjace1364]

Alright, I know Simon would never intentionally make this many anime references. Clearly the writer just wants to hear him say weeb stuff.

[@reddo84]

Fantastic. Keep the stories coming :D

[@Battledongus]

This was fascinating I'd never heard of this before! It was just chance like you said that a massive disaster was averted.

[@nixtempest342]

Might be interesting to see a video on 3 mile island. Always interesting to see how it compares to the other great nuclear disasters of the 1900s.

[@davecooper3238]

There is a Three Mile Island KZbin video by Plainly Difficult. The same channel has pieces on all sorts of nuclear incidents.

[@arosenberger87]

Had a professor try to fail me for writing a paper on nuclear accidents. Said that the first accident in the USA was 3 mile island. Needless to say he got fired quickly. He supposedly had a degree in nuclear engineering

[@sqweki2008]

😂 30 miles from downtown L.A. & a local TV news came across the story 30 odd years later... U.S.A. & Russia are as bad at each other..... oh wait a minute S.L1....Chernobyl... & parts of where I live are still effected! & before someone calls me racist I’m only point out an observation🤨

[@stevenschnepp576]

@@sqweki2008 "USA and Russia are as bad as each other." Nah. Our death tolls and brutality aren't nearly as bad as theirs.

[@morenofranco9235]

Excellent, Simon.

[@Eddie-hk5sf]

That was such a great episode

[@Xiuhcoatl_]

This man out here callin himself whistler but doesn't whistle on any of his channels smh my head

[@bbnfrazer4263]

What’s with the extra “my head”

[@ollieb9875]

PIN number LCD display Etc 😅

[@artistwithouttalent]

Yare Yare Daze. Also authorities in the US _did_ know about the Kyshtym disaster at the time based on other evidence (namely heightened levels of radiation in the air and several nearby cities suddenly disappearing from Soviet maps) but had no confirmation until after the USSR fell. Plus given that there were Americans living in similar arrangements to City 40, they didn't want to draw attention to it, even though the likelihood of something like that happening in America was markedly less.

[@3DRiley_]

Kinda missed out on the whole Wigner Effect and Wigner Release which played a quite important role in why it took so long for the operators to realize there was a fire. For anyone interested: Free neutrons above a certain amount of energy can dislocate carbon atoms inside the crystal structure of the graphite. These dislocated atoms end up in non-ideal places inside the crystal structure, giving them some potential energy. This can be explained as a sort of tension due to the electromagnetic forces of the orbiting electrons pushing the atoms apart, like pushing two magnets together with the same ends facing each other. This energy can be released if the graphite is heated, causing further heating. Normally they would do something called annealing (or in the case of Windscale a Wigner Release) in which they purposely heat the graphite to cause the energy to be released before too much potential energy is pent up inside the graphite. On the days of the accident the reactor was heating up unevenly. One fuel channel was heating up more than the others. Thinking some energy had built up due to the Wigner Effect, the operators heated the whole reactor by external means to cause a Wigner Release. On the second try everything heated evenly and the Wigner Release was considered a success. What they didn't know at this point was that one of the fuel capsules had burst and ignited long before this. This was the actual cause for that one fuel channel to heat more than the others, not the Wigner Effect. After they turned off the heating the temperatures didn't decrease so they turned up the cooling fans, causing the radiation readings to increase. They realized a fuel cartridge had burst but as this had happened in the past, it didn't really concern them. The higher fan speed gave the fire more oxygen, making it spread faster. Only when the temperature still increased after turning up the fans they knew there was a fire (which they at this point didn't know had been burning for about two days already), which was then visually confirmed by Tuohy.

[@Tinkering4Time]

Hi, Simon and Co. I cannot help but notice the thread of emphasis throughout your videos on the dark sides of nuclear power and waste, and the tone of tragic inevitability. Might I suggest that you do a video on the history and progress of nuclear energy, and of the developments and hurdles that researchers face? More often than not nuclear accidents are due to official mismanagement, cutting corners, or reluctance to listen to throughly expert criticisms of designs or procedures due to short-term inconvenience or cost. The channel Plainly Difficult has a series of videos that highlight exactly these failings. Nuclear accidents of fire or poisoning or radioactive contamination are not uncontrollable chaotic inevitabilities; they are largely matters of ignorance, neglect, and hubris. I personally believe that nuclear energy is the best way forward at this time. The barriers are popular fear and politicians ignorant of science and disinterested in risking their careers. The latest designs and experiments are safe enough to walk away from, with multiple failsafes of electronic, mechanical, and even passive designs. Some are even designed to desalinate seawater as a BYPRODUCT. Free, clean, fresh water. Some reactors are designed solely around the purpose of steam distillation, with the electricity generated being used to further focused around purifying and otherwise handling the water generated. We can have it better than ever.

[@paultuttle467]

I never thought there would be a JoJo reference in a Geographics video.

[@furygeist]

JoJographics

[@WickedPhase]

Me neither but i'm living for it

[@pamike4873]

What reference would that be?

[@xijin_pooh5158]

I really really appreciate that JoJos bizarre adventure reference

[@rc-dom-uk]

Enjoyed this Simon .

[@el-rufio2464]

Nothing beats a relaxing holiday in the village of gosforth than a video like this to wind my evening down ☺️

[@dp6447]

An Attack on Titan reference Simon I’m impressed!

[@superabadtalkies2157]

Time stamp pls

[@Begruded_Norse]

@@superabadtalkies2157 10.46

[@boogerie]

"The British Chernobyl"? Sound like it would've been called "the Soviet Windscale"?

[@LittleEmoDancer]

Everything's bigger in the Soviet Union!

[@georgekurgansky5986]

Swept under carpet eh.. oh look at them thet are bad, we are good

[@joyrider7421]

please keep it up, geo bio mega and side projects are the best but bring on the blaze

[@TheGingerChild09]

That's mental, I live 30 minutes away from this powerplant, never knew there was a close call like that

[@JaleDoris]

Why must EVERYTHING be a JoJo reference?!?!?

[@nicosmind3]

Tried watching JoJo. Thought it was crap and i love my Anime

[@CamCoEntertainment]

Because everything is a Jojo reference

[@UnlimitedGreenWorks]

@Eddie Hitler its an anime that is really fun to watch due to hoe absurd and purposfuelly over the top it is. Its wierd, its bizzare, everything is always taken to the extreme and araki forgets a lot.

[@UnlimitedGreenWorks]

@Eddie Hitler oh, heads up, the first part might be a little boring. But it gets better. Hope you get a great day to watch it tho.

[@JohnDoe-vn1we]

Because brain dead weebs cannot help themselves from talking about those garbage cartoon 24/7.

[@xamathtag2016]

Sellafield is a bit of a running joke out West. Not just the people living around it have extra fingers and limbs, but that they’re paid a metric f tonne of cash for doing absolutely nothing I can make these jokes because my partner works for CNC

[@wewowe95]

What's CNC

[@maninyellow9943]

Haha yeh

[@mikespicer4827]

You want to see people with extra fingers go to Devon there's thousands of them and no radiation involved.

[@legionchef]

Don’t they say the same about people from Whitehaven?

[@nlwilson4892]

@@wewowe95 Civil Nuclear Constabulary (the police on nuclear sites)

[@philb1595]

Simon, do a video on the Rocketdyne cesium reactor melt down in the Santa Suzanna pass in Southern CA, people still don't know how Radioactive the northwestern san Fernando valley is

[@davidvwilliamson]

the design of the pile was interesting. nice & simple.

[@sportsmag6148]

At this point in time, I bet very few people actually think the people in charge know what they are doing, heck, even the people in charge don't know what they are doing.

[@stevenschnepp576]

Almost like elections based on popularity are a bad idea!

[@adamlomas8479]

Where’s Homer Simpson when you need him. Wouldn’t of happened on his watch.

[@j.a.weishaupt1748]

*wouldn’t HAVE

[@adamlomas8479]

@@j.a.weishaupt1748 you must be a fungi

[@lauraleech5188]

Thank you for this post, I have told people about this for years,, no one believed me.