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Jan. 3, 1961: America’s first nuclear accident kills three workers at an Atomic Energy Commission research reactor in Idaho Falls, Idaho. An operator pulls a control rod out of the reactor, triggering an out-of-control power surge, partial meltdown, and an explosive release of radioactive steam. One worker is impaled on a control rod, and all three are so heavily contaminated that they are buried in lead coffins.

 

Jan. 3, 1975: On a barrier island near the principal spaceflight facility in the U.S., the Canaveral National Seashore is established. The seashore features a 24-mile stretch of beaches and dunes and is a major haven for nesting sea turtles.

 

Jan. 3, 1993: U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign the START II Treaty, pledging to cut in half the nuclear arsenals of both nations.

 

Jan. 3, 2002: In a deal brokered by the Humane Society of the U.S., 3,500 freshwater turtles, confiscated during an endangered species sting in Hong Kong a month earlier, are shipped to Florida as part of a rescue and rehab effort. The turtles and tortoises were headed for China for sale as food.

 

 

This feature is compiled by Peter Dykstra, an MNN contributor and publisher of Environmental Health News and The Daily Climate.