Very good question. It probably happened in the 1950s on an experimental reactor on the INEL site in Idaho. I know that their EBR-1 reactor was damaged by a partial meltdown in that time period, but I don't know if it was the first.
I have considered making a FOIA request to them on that subject.
None ever recorded but I may happen soon. We'll see >:)
Nuclear explosions are not controlled. Nuclear reactors are controlled.The first controlled nuclear reaction in the US was on December 2, 1942.The first nuclear explosion in the US was on July 16, 1945.
The Shippingport reactor was the first full-scale PWR nuclear power plant in the United States.
Three Mile Island, Pa, 1979
The worst nuclear accident in the United States occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania on March 28, 1979. A partial meltdown of one of the reactors resulted from a combination of mechanical failures, design deficiencies, and operator errors. While there were no immediate injuries or deaths, the incident raised significant concerns about nuclear safety and led to widespread public anxiety regarding the safety of nuclear power.
The first controlled nuclear reaction took place in 1942, and the first nuclear meltdown in US history occurred in 1979, marking a span of 37 years between these two events.
The only nuclear reactor meltdown in the US occurred at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania in 1979. It was a partial meltdown caused by a combination of equipment failure and human error.
None ever recorded but I may happen soon. We'll see >:)
I do not know as I don't have full access to INEL (the nuclear reactor development site in Idaho) records, perhaps a good idea for a FOIA request, the first meltdown would almost certainly have occurred in one of their test reactors long before any commercial reactor. I do know that the core of EBR-I (the first US breeder/power reactor prototype) was damaged in a meltdown on November 29, 1955; it was repaired and finally deactivated in 1964. This reactor has been decontaminated and is open for public tours (docent guided and self guided). I have been there 3 times (the first before decontamination of the floors were complete). I very much suspect they had at least one test reactor deliberately designed to thermally damage or even melt its core to study the effects.
Worst case scenario, if the Japan nuclear reactors have a complete meltdown, then there is a possibility that the radiation can travel in the Jet Stream to the western coast of the U.S. To protect yourself from the radiation, iodine supplements are available at your local drug store.
Yes, the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania experienced a partial core meltdown in 1979, which resulted in the most serious accident in the history of the US commercial nuclear power generating industry. However, the reactor did not explode like a nuclear bomb.
first power reactors were Calder Hall (UK 1956) and Shippingport (US 1958)
This was the Three Mile Island Accident on March 28, 1986 in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. The first partial meltdown in a US nuclear power plant happened at the EBR-I facility in Idaho on November 29, 1955. It was repaired and continued to operate for some years after. There was also a partial meltdown at the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station in Detroit, Michigan on October 5, 1966. These were not, however, what most people would call major disasters, as there was no major release of radioactive materials.
Nuclear explosions are not controlled. Nuclear reactors are controlled.The first controlled nuclear reaction in the US was on December 2, 1942.The first nuclear explosion in the US was on July 16, 1945.
The US became the only nation with nuclear weapons .
The only incident which might have become a disaster was the Three Mile Island one in 1979. This caused a partial meltdown of the core, and was certainly a commercial disaster, though the effect to the public was minor, if anything.
The US was the first to start testing nuclear weapons