On this day in labor history, the year was 1981.
That was the day at least eight workers at Sequoyah I nuclear reactor in Tennessee were exposed to radioactive coolant.
The reactor was part of the vast Tennessee Valley Authority that provided electrical power to the region.
Sequoyah I had just been commissioned and was already off to a bad start.
First, on January 19, 1981, a generator tube malfunctioned, forcing a complete shut down.
Then on February 11, an operator error triggered an emergency alert.
An Auxiliary Unit Operator was working his first day on the new job without proper training.
He inadvertently opened the wrong valve during a safety test.
The operator misunderstood his instructions and recognized his mistake immediately.
But when he tried to alert the control room, they were too busy responding to the developing crisis to answer his call.
Reactor water sprayed for 10 minutes before it was finally shut off.
As many as 14 workers were contaminated by the coolant.
Some scientists contend that the release of reactor vessel water was inadvertent and part of the design of the cooling system.
Others argue that, in order to cut costs, management had decided to use radioactively contaminated water as emergency coolant rather than the more expensive fresh, uncontaminated water.
Steam leaks, tube malfunctions and overflowing drainage tanks were just some of the reported failures at the plant in the following years.
Between 1985 and 1988, Sequoyah was forced to shut down again after an independent review concluded that the plant did not comply with current safety standards.
Today the plant supplies electricity to more than 1.3 million homes.
May 11 - Organizing in the Fields
May 10 - Bankruptcy Bonanza for Big Bankers
May 9 - The Historic ‘34 West Coast Maritime Strike Begins
May 8 - Mary Marcy is Born
May 7 - Popeye The Union Man
May 6 - FDR Rolls Out the WPA
May 5 - The Bay View Massacre
May 4 - UE Beats Back HUAC in Dayton
May 3 - First Workers Compensation Law is Passed
May 2 - Our Thing is DRUM!
May 1 - Mayday Marchers Attacked in Cleveland
April 30 - Refinery Workers Walk Off the Job
April 29 - Allis-Chalmers and the Road to Taft-Hartley
April 28 - OSHA Goes Into Effect
April 27 - Disaster in West Virginia
April 26 - National Guard Ousts Montgomery Ward CEO
April 25 - UAW Mobilizes Against Taft-Hartley
April 24 - The California Spinach Riot
April 23 - Sitting Down for Dignity at Ford
April 22 - The Red Jacket Mine Explosion
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