Famous radiation leaks

The chart above shows approximate radiation releases (in becquerels) for some major nuclear disasters. It should be interpreted with caution, since some radioisotopes are more dangerous than others. For example, the releases from Three Mile Island were largely noble gases (mostly xenon), and that incident appears to have had few detectable environmental or health effects. Ticks on the vertical axis of the chart go up logarithmically, in steps of ×1000. For comparison, radium and bananas are also listed.

• Chernobyl (1986)
• Releases from the Mayak plant (1949–1957), culminating in the Kyshtym disaster
• Fukushima (2011)
• Three Mile Island (1979)
• Kursk submarine (2000)
• Windscale fire (1957)

Chernobyl reactor #4 in 2007, encased in concrete

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