On January 3 , 1961 , the only fatal nuclear reactor incident in the U.S. occurred at the NRTS . An experimental reactor called SL-1 ( Stationary Low-Power Plant Number 1 ) was destroyed when a control rod was pulled too far out of the reactor , leading to core meltdown and a steam explosion . The reactor vessel jumped up . The concussion and blast killed all three military enlisted personnel working on the reactor . Due to the extensive radioactive isotope contamination , all three were buried in lead coffins . The events are the subject of two books , one published in 2003 , '' Idaho Falls : The untold story of America 's first nuclear accident '' , and another , '' Atomic America : How a Deadly Explosion and a Feared Admiral Changed the Course of Nuclear History '' , published in 2009
SL-1
SL-1
Idaho National Laboratory