[jtsiskin]

“In 2002, a Department of Energy (DOE) official described typical waste disposal procedures used by Field Lab employees in the past. Workers would dispose of barrels filled with radioactive sodium by dumping them in a pond and then shooting the barrels with rifles so that they would explode and release their contents into the air.[29] Since, the pit has been remediated by having 22,000 cubic yards of soil removed down 10-12 feet to bedrock.[29]

On 26 July 1994, two scientists, Otto K. Heiney and Larry A. Pugh were killed when the chemicals they were illegally burning in open pits exploded. “

… I think there’s more here than just the reactor meltdown.

And also, this was in 1959. Compare that to https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springhill_mining_disasters. “Safe” is relative