From Beyond5000

This is the only radioactive grave in the United States and it has been sealed in Arlington Cemetery since 1961. It belongs to Richard Leroy McKinley, one of the three men killed in the SL 1 nuclear accident, the first and only fatal reactor accident in American history.

On 3 January 1961, the SL 1 reactor in Idaho was being restarted after maintenance. During the procedure, its main control rod was pulled higher than it should have been. In less than a second the reactor went prompt critical. The sudden energy burst turned water into steam, created a violent explosion and threw the reactor vessel several feet into the air.

The blast killed all three men on duty. McKinley’s body was contaminated with long lasting radioactive isotopes. Because of this his remains were placed in a lead lined casket and then locked inside a heavy metal vault that was finally surrounded by thick concrete. Cemetery files state that the grave can never be opened or moved without special federal approval.

More than sixty years later the site remains one of the strangest and most dangerous graves in the country and a reminder of how risky early nuclear experiments could be.

📚Sources
• United States Atomic Energy Commission SL 1 accident reports
• Idaho National Laboratory historical summaries
• Arlington National Cemetery burial records
• Military Times historical coverage