At a commercial irradiation facility near Soreq, Israel, the cobalt-60 source rack sticks in the exposed position. Misinterpreting contradictory warning signals, the operator bypasses safety interlocks to enter the irradiation chamber and free the mechanism. He receives an estimated whole-body dose of 10-20 Grays and dies 36 days later.

Note: 1 Gray equals 100 rads.

An experimental chemical cell being used to investigate the phenomenon known as cold fusion explodes at a laboratory in Menlo Park, California, killing Andrew Riley, a British electrochemist.

Cold fusion was so named because at the time it seemed possible that nuclear fusion reactions might be occurring at room temperature in the cells. Because of this, there was a considerable stir over the Menlo Park explosion. Three other cells that Riley and his colleagues had used were buried as a precaution. Subsequent investigation found that it was a purely chemical explosion, with no nuclear processes involved.

While research on cold fusion continues, no trace of nuclear radiation has ever been demonstrated, and no useful energy output has been achieved.

An 82-year-old woman is being treated for intestinal cancer at a clinic in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The treatment consists of inserting five wires, each with a "seed" of iridium-192, into her colon. When the wires are being retracted, one breaks, leaving the seed inside the woman. Since the console indicator shows the wires have been safely retracted, the physician and staff ignore a radiation alarm. They do not do a radiation survey with a portable monitor to be sure.

The patient is taken back to her nursing home. The seed falls out on the fourth day and is disposed of in a medical biohazards bag which remains on site for six more days. Workers and visitors are exposed for a total of ten days. When a medical waste disposal truck arrives to carry off the waste, the driver fails to survey the items with a portable radiation meter as per company policy. The source is finally discovered at an incineration facility in Warren, Ohio when radiation alarms indicate contamination.

The staff of the incinerator locate and isolate the bag after an arduous search. Records allow it to be traced back to the nursing home. An NRC Incident Investigation team finds that the woman died five days after her treatment; the Indiana County Coroner's report confirms that she died of acute radiation sickness. The NRC team finds that over 90 people were exposed, with some of the staff receiving significant doses. Announcements in local newspapers bring in some of the visitors who are at risk.

The Sequoyah Fuels Corporation plant in Gore, Oklahoma is closed after multiple citations by the government over a period of years for violations of nuclear safety and environmental rules. One of two privately owned American manufacturers of armor-piercing shells and reactor fuel rods, the plant had been shut down the week before by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission when an accidental release of toxic gas caused 34 people to seek medical treatment.

The plant had also been shut down the year before when high concentrations of uranium were detected in water in a nearby construction pit. A government investigation revealed that the company had known for years that uranium was leaking into groundwater at levels 35,000 times higher than federal law allows. Carol Couch, the plant's environmental manager, was cited for obstructing the investigation and for knowingly giving federal agents false information.

Note: See also the entry for 6 January 1986.

The French nuclear submarine Émeraude (S-604) is operating submerged in the Mediterranean. The non-radioactive secondary steam loop in the reactor room develops a serious leak. The vessel's commander and a number of senior members of the crew investigate the leak. Unfortunately, they are not wearing protective clothing. When a steam pipe bursts, they are killed instantly.

Despite the damage and the loss of ten men, the Émeraude is recovered and returns to service. No details on its repair have been made public.

Three brothers break into the Tammiku repository of nuclear wastes, some 20km from Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Their intent is to steal and sell some metal. During this caper, someone dislodges a radiation source from its shielding block. It is a small metal cylinder, about 1.5cm in diameter and 3cm long. One of the brothers puts it in the pocket of his jacket. He comes home the next morning to the village of Kiisa and, not feeling well, goes to bed. He is hospitalized on 25 October and dies on 2 November. The diagnosis is kidney failure. Apparently he has told no one about his night-time adventure or the "prize" he obtained.

The next victim is his stepson, who finds the cylinder in the jacket pocket and places in in a drawer containing tools in the kitchen. The 13-year-old boy goes to hospital on 17 November with severe burns on his hands. Only then is radiation recognized as the cause. The police are notified, and a team from the Rescue Board finds the source in the kitchen drawer on 18 November, measuring a dose rate of 20 R/h from it. The source is later identified as cesium-137.