District Surveys following the Windscale Incident, October 1957

During 10–11 October 1957 a fire in the core of a nuclear reactor at Windscale Works, Sellafield (in the current county of Cumbria, England) led to a significant release of radioactive material to atmosphere. The accident at Windscale No. 1 Pile required a large-scale environmental monitoring programme to be conducted and the results of this survey led to a restriction on the distribution of milk from an area adjacent to Windscale Works for a period of several weeks. This monitoring programme was described in detail by H J Dunster and his colleagues from the Industrial Group of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (which operated Windscale Works in 1957) in a paper presented to the Second United Nations International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, held in Geneva during 1–13 September 1958. The paper, from the proceedings of this conference, is reproduced here. The original reference of this paper is: Dunster H J, Howells H and Templeton W L 1958 District surveys following the Windscale incident, October 1957 Proceedings of the Second United Nations International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy (Geneva, 1 September–13 September 1958). Volume 18: Waste Treatment and Environmental Aspects of Atomic Energy (Geneva: United Nations) pp 296–308 The paper is reproduced with the kind assistance of the United Nations, and of Mrs Rose Dunster, the widow of Mr H John Dunster.