Reddit mentions of Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident

Yes, is true. It was SL-1 in Idaho Falls. There was a book made which went into exquisitely gory detail. You've essentially got the big details right.

The emergency response was absolutely staggering too - servicemen driving the ambulance with the irradiated body in it balls-out for x seconds at a time because anything further would go over their maximum dose.

Not to mention how the autopsies and burials had to be done.

from reading a book about the SL-1 incident, the writer alludes to the fact that it was a poor design. the control rods cadmium coating was flaking off making the reactor easier to go critical.
here is the book I'm referring too:
http://www.amazon.com/Idaho-Falls-Americas-Nuclear-Accident/dp/1550225626

This author is pretty good. Atomic Accidents, Atomic Awakening, and Atomic Adventures are all great reads and are also available in audiobook. I drive 10-14 hours a day so audiobooks are my thing.

Idaho Falls is pretty good too since it heavily details the first big atomic accident ever if you don't count Kyshtym. I enjoy reading about accidents and what caused them since each accident was a teachable moment in the industry.

Also look into biographies of Oppenheimer, the Curies, Fermi, and Niels Bohr.

I rather enjoyed The Truth About Chernobyl by Grigori Medvedev, because it went into greater detail on the Soviet engineering philosophy that contributed to the event. Fire in the Rain: The Democratic Consequences of Chernobyl by Peter Gould was also interesting for the analysis of how various countries in western Europe reacted.

On a different topic, Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident by William McKeown is a fascinating look at the SL-1 criticality event, a more obscure incident in the history of nuclear power.

Idaho Falls