Report on the accident at Windscale No. 1 Pile on 10 October 1957
A serious fire developed in the core of a nuclear reactor at Windscale Works, Sellafield, northwest
England, which led to the release of significant quantities of radioactive material into the
environment during 10 –11th October, 1957. In 1957, Windscale Works was operated by the United
Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), and on 15th October it was announced by the Chairman of the
UKAEA that a Committee of Inquiry had been established under the chairmanship of Sir William Penney
to conduct an investigation into the accident. The Committee sat at Windscale Works during 17 –25th
October, interviewed 37 people (some more than once), and examined 73 technical exhibits. The
Committee reported to the Chairman of the UKAEA on 26th October. The Report of the Committee formed
the technical basis of a UK Government White Paper (Cmnd. 302) published on 8th November, 1957, but
the Penney Report itself was not published, and was only made public (at what is now The National
Archives, TNA,...
Source: Journal of Radiological Protection - Category: Physics Authors: William Penney, Basil F J Schonland, J M Kay, Jack Diamond and David E H Peirson Source Type: research