clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk   

Windscale piles
The Windscale piles provided material for nuclear weapons
The radioactive fallout from a nuclear accident that rocked Britain 50 years ago was underestimated, scientists say.

In 1957, a fire at the Windscale nuclear reactor in Cumbria led to a release of radioactive material that spread across the UK and Europe.
But new research claims the incident generated twice as much radioactive material and caused dozens more cancers than was previously thought.
Windscale piles
The Windscale piles provided material for nuclear weapons
Infographic
Graphite overheated and fire broke out
Air from fan fuelled fire
Nuclear contaminants travelled up chimney
Filter blocked some but not all contaminated material
Radioactive cloud spread over UK and Europe

Windscale: A nuclear disaster
Map of radioactive contamination spread