http://www.history.com/photos/nuclear-disasters From Chernobyl to the March 2011 crisis in Japan, these disasters rank among the most devastating nuclear accidents to date. en Copyright 2013, History.com Mon, 20 May 2013 04:00:00 GMT History.com 2013-05-20T04:00:00Z en Copyright 2013, History.com http://www.history.com/photos/nuclear-disasters/photo1 The earthquake that shook Japan on March 11, 2011, stirred up a devastating tsunami that has been blamed for thousands of deaths. It also triggered a series of accidents and failures at the Fukushima nuclear plant, leaving experts scrambling to avoid meltdowns. http://www.history.com/photos/nuclear-disasters/photo1 http://www.history.com/photos/nuclear-disasters/photo2 Built in the late 1970s about 65 miles north of Kiev in the Ukraine, the Chernobyl plant was one of the largest and oldest nuclear power plants in the world. The explosion and meltdown that occurred there in April 1986 claimed thousands of lives and remains the worst nuclear disaster in history. http://www.history.com/photos/nuclear-disasters/photo2 http://www.history.com/photos/nuclear-disasters/photo3 The most serious nuclear accident in U.S. history took place at the Three Mile Island plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, when a pressure valve failed to close, allowing contaminated water to drain into adjoining buildings. The incident eroded the American public's faith in nuclear power. http://www.history.com/photos/nuclear-disasters/photo3 http://www.history.com/photos/nuclear-disasters/photo4 Britain's first nuclear reactor, known as Windscale, was the site of a massive blaze in October 1957. While no evacuations occurred, officials prohibited the sale of milk from the affected area for a month. Scientists estimate that fallout from the fire may have caused some 240 cases of cancer. http://www.history.com/photos/nuclear-disasters/photo4 http://www.history.com/photos/nuclear-disasters/photo5 In the years following World War II, the Soviet Union constructed dozens of covert nuclear facilities. One of these, the Mayak plant in the town of Ozyorsk, became the site of a major disaster when the cooling system in a storage tank failed. Some 200 people died of cancer as a result. http://www.history.com/photos/nuclear-disasters/photo5