SF-3 1971: The Soviet Union's Worst Criticality Accident

The time was 4PM, May 26th, 1971. At the Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy, the Soviet Union’s prestigious nuclear research and development establishment, an experiment is coming to an end. The experiment has been successful, and the researchers are getting ready to leave for the end of the day. However, just as they’re resetting the experiment and inspecting the equipment, the nuclear fuel suddenly and violently roared back to life in an uncontrolled power excursion. At least two people would die; several others would be left with their lives but not their health. This accident would be covered up, classified, buried, and abandoned to rumors for the next almost thirty years. This is the story of the SF-3 experiment: the Soviet Union’s worst criticality accident. Join the Discord!   / discord   Join the Archive!   / discord   Sources: https://xn--h1aaqajha1i.xn--p1ai/novosti/arhiv/2023-god/andrei-yurevich-gagarinskii-v-pamjati-kolleg.html http://www.geoschool.web.ru/db/geol_s... https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/s... https://elib.biblioatom.ru/text/izoto..., page 28 https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ml0037/ML003... https://ncsp.llnl.gov/sites/ncsp/file... https://www.nuclear-power.com/nuclear... https://rains.doe.gov/page/glossary-c... https://web.archive.org/web/201900000...