Perhaps the Worst, Not the First

The estimated 375 commercial nuclear power plants in operation around the world have now built up more than 3,800 years of experience. But since the first one went on-line at Obninsk in the Soviet Union in 1954, there has always been the fear of an accident. The vast majority of malfunctions pose no serious health threat, yet some problems have required emergency measures. A worldwide count of accidents and casualties at nuclear facilities cannot be made with precision because the Soviet Union, a major user of nuclear power, does not divulge information about such problems until they become impossible to disregard...