Running a nuclear power plant isn’t an easy task, even with the level of automation available to a 1980s Soviet RBMK reactor.

When the Chernobyl reactor exploded, the Soviet Union rushed thousands of volunteers into a lethal radiation zone. Among them were helicopter pilots tasked with flying directly over the exposed ...

Between changing risk perceptions and new equipment developed to cope with extreme hazards, these major disasters have had a profound impact on nuclear safety management.