The Doomsday Clock is closer to midnight than it has ever been. The Clock is a symbol that represents just how close Earth is to human-made catastrophe. It has been made and maintained by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist since 1947. As the situation in Ukraine is making clear, as long as nuclear weapons exist, there will very likely be a nuclear catastrophe, and the more the weapons have proliferated, the sooner it will come.
Hundreds of incidents have nearly destroyed our world through accident, confusion, misunderstanding, and extremely irrational machismo. Over 70 military nuclear accidents are listed on Wikipedia.
In England…
July 27, 1956 – RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, UK
A USAF B-47 crashed into a storage igloo, spreading burning fuel over three Mark 6 nuclear bombs at RAF Lakenheath. A bomb disposal expert stated it was a miracle exposed detonators on one bomb did not fire, which presumably would have released nuclear material into the environment.
Further information: RAF Lakenheath near nuclear disasters
Feb 28, 1958 – Greenham Common US Base, Newbury, England
A B-47E of the 310th Bomb Wing developed problems shortly after takeoff and jettisoned its two 1,700 gallon external fuel tanks. They missed their designated safe impact area, and one hit a hangar while the other struck the ground 65 feet (20 m) behind a parked B-47E. The parked plane, which was fuelled, had a pilot on board, and was carrying a 1.1 megaton (4.6 PJ) B28 nuclear bomb, was engulfed by flames. The conflagration took sixteen hours and over a million gallons of water to extinguish. Although two men were killed and eight injured, the US and UK governments kept the accident secret: as late as 1985, the British government claimed that a taxiing aircraft had struck a parked one and that no fire was involved.
Oct8–12, 1957 – Sellafield, Cumbria, UK
The fire burned for three days and released radioactive fallout which spread across the UK and the rest of Europe.
Further Information: Windscale fire
Recent Concerns
Nuclear Free Local Authorities have recently requested further information from various local bodies about their Emergency Planning for accidents at Lakenheath: Emergency planning for future accidents involving the transportation of and maintenance of US nuclear weapons at RAF Lakenheath