Atomic America has a thought provoking subtitle – “How a Deadly Explosion and a Feared Admiral Changed the Course of Nuclear History”. The unifying story through the book is one that most nuclear trained people know a little about – the accident at the Army’s SL-1 that took place on January 3, 1961.
In Atomic America, Todd Tucker, a Notre Dame history major who spent five years in the US nuclear navy, explores that story in great detail and puts names and descriptions to the three operators on duty that night. He also explains clearly why that event was a one of a kind within the nuclear power programs of the military services and within the US nuclear power industry.
I hope you enjoy our conversation.
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Good show. It is nice hearing two Navy nukes reminisce about the old days. However, you didn’t spend very much time talking about the actual events surrounding the SL-1 accident (aside from the discussion regarding the control rod manipulation) or what happened to the three operators. I suppose I’ll need to buy the book now.
Thanks for this interview. My father was a lab techie at NRTS/INEL from 1963 until his retirement, and the stories he told me about SL-1 he got firsthand from people involved in the recovery, clean-up, and investigation work.