alternatehistory.com

April 23, 1968

Testimony reveals possible cause of Fermi meltdown

Eighteen months after the meltdown at the Fermi atomic plant near Detroit, Michigan, a possible cause for the disaster may have been found. Testimony before the joint Atomic Energy committee placed the blame for the accident on improperly installed plates in the reactor vessel. Milton Shaw, the director of the AEC’s division of reactor development and technology, disclosed that the meltdown may have been caused by a metal plate which had been added to the reactor as an afterthought. He believed that the plate could have come loose and blocked the flow of coolant to the reactor, causing overheating and the subsequent meltdown. [1]

After questioning by Representative Craig Hosmer (R-CA), Shaw brought out evidence that engineers had installed the plates at the prodding of the AEC’s advisory committee of reactor safety. Representative Chet Holifield (D-CA), chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, accused the AEC of using “Band-Aid technology” and declared the AEC’s conduct “absolutely inexcusable.” [1][2]