| Date | Location | Description | Fatalities | Cost (in millions 2006 US$) | INES rating |
| November 29, 1955 | Arco, Idaho | Power excursion with partial core meltdown at National Reactor Testing Station's EBR-1 Experimental Breeder Reactor I | 0 | 5 | |
| July 26, 1959 | Simi Valley, California | Partial core meltdown at Santa Susana Field Laboratory's Sodium Reactor Experiment | 0 | 32 | |
| January 3, 1961 | Idaho Falls, Idaho | Steam explosion and meltdown results in three fatalities at National Reactor Testing Station's SL-1 Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One | 3 | 22 | 4 |
| July 24, 1964 | Charlestown, Rhode Island | An error by a worker at a United Nuclear Corporation fuel facility led to an accidental criticality | 1 | ?? | |
| October 5, 1966 | Monroe, Michigan | Sodium cooling system malfunctions at Enrico Fermi demonstration breeder reactor causing partial core meltdown | 0 | 19 | |
| July 16, 1971 | Cordova, Illinois | An electrician is electrocuted by a live cable at the Quad Cities Unit 1 reactor on the Mississippi River | 1 | 1 | |
| April 21, 1973 | Pacific Ocean, 370 miles from Puget Sound | Primary coolant leak on board the USS Guardfish while underway | 0 | unknown | |
| August 11, 1973 | Covert Township, Michigan | Steam generator leak at the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station causes manual shutdown of pressurized water reactor | 0 | 10 | |
| March 22, 1975 | Athens, Alabama | Fire burns for seven hours and damages more than 1600 control cables for three nuclear reactors at Browns Ferry, disabling core cooling systems | 0 | 240 | |
| November 5, 1975 | Brownville, Nebraska | Hydrogen gas explosion damages the Cooper Nuclear Facility's auxiliary building | 0 | 13 | |
| June 10, 1977 | Waterford, Connecticut | Hydrogen gas explosion damages three buildings and forces shutdown of Millstone-1 Boiling Water Reactor | 0 | 15 | |
| February 4, 1979 | Surry, Virginia | Surry Unit 2 shut down in response to failing tube bundles in steam generators | 0 | 12 | |
| March 28, 1979 | Middletown, Pennsylvania | Loss of coolant and partial core meltdown, see Three Mile Island accident and Three Mile Island accident health effects | 0 | 2400 | 5 |
| November 22, 1980 | San Clemente, California | Worker cleaning breaker cubicles at San Onofre Pressurized Water Reactor contacts an energized line and is electrocuted | 1 | 1 | |
| January 25, 1982 | Ontario, New York | Ginna Nuclear Generating Station (then operated by Rochester Gas & Electric now by Constellation Energy Nuclear Group) experiences a steam tube rupture, releasing radioactivity into the environment. | 0 | 1 | |
| February 26, 1982 | San Clemente, California | Southern California Company shuts down San Onofre Unit 1 out of concerns about earthquake | 0 | 1 | |
| March 20, 1982 | Scriba, New York | Recirculation system piping fails at Nine Mile Point Unit 1, forcing two year shutdown | 0 | 45 | |
| March 25, 1982 | Buchanan, New York | Damage to steam generator tubes and main generator resulting in a shut down Indian Point Energy Center Unit 3 for more than a year | 0 | 56 | |
| June 18, 1982 | Seneca, South Carolina | Feedwater heat extraction line fails at Oconee 2 Pressurised Water Reactor, damaging thermal cooling system | 0 | 10 | |
| February 12, 1983 | Forked River, New Jersey | Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station fails safety inspection, forced to shut down for repairs | 0 | 32 | |
| February 26, 1983 | Fort Pierce, Florida | Damaged thermal shield and core barrel support at St. Lucie Unit 1, necessitating 13-month shutdown | 0 | 54 | |
| September 15, 1984 | Athens, Alabama | Safety violations, operator error, and design problems force six year outage at Browns Ferry Unit 2 | 0 | 110 | |
| March 9, 1985 | Athens, Alabama | Instrumentation systems malfunction during start-up, which led to suspension of operations at all three Browns Ferry Units | 0 | 1830 | |
| June 9, 1985 | Oak Harbor, Ohio | Loss of feedwater event at Davis-Besse reactor after main pumps shut down and auxiliary pumps tripped due to operator error. NRC review determines site area emergency should have been declared | 0 | ? | |
| April 11, 1986 | Plymouth, Massachusetts | Recurring equipment problems force emergency shutdown of Boston Edison's Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant | 0 | 1001 | |
| December 9, 1986 | Surry, Virginia | Feedwater line-burst at Surry Nuclear Power Plant kills 4 | 4 | | |
| March 31, 1987 | Delta, Pennsylvania | Peach Bottom units 2 and 3 shutdown due to cooling malfunctions and unexplained equipment problems | 0 | 400 | |
| July 15, 1987 | Burlington, Kansas | Safety inspector dies from electrocution after contacting a mislabeled wire at Wolf Creek Nuclear Generating Station | 1 | 1 | |
| December 19, 1987 | Scriba, New York | Malfunctions force Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation to shut down Nine Mile Point Unit 1 | 0 | 150 | |
| March 29, 1988 | Burlington, Kansas | A worker at the Wolf Creek Generating Station falls through an unmarked manhole and electrocutes himself when trying to escape | 1 | 1 | |
| September 10, 1988 | Surry, Virginia | Refuelling cavity seal fails and destroys internal pipe system at Surry Unit 2, forcing 12-month outage | 0 | 9 | |
| March 5, 1989 | Tonopah, Arizona | Atmospheric dump valves fail at Palo Verde Unit 1, leading to main transformer fire and emergency shutdown | 0 | 14 | |
| March 17, 1989 | Lusby, Maryland | Inspections at Calvert Cliff Units 1 and 2 reveal cracks at pressurized heater sleeves, forcing extended shutdowns | 0 | 120 | |
| November 17, 1991 | Scriba, New York | Safety and fire problems force shut down of the FitzPatrick nuclear reactor for 13 months | 0 | 5 | |
| April 21, 1992 | Southport, North Carolina | NRC forces shut down of Brunswick Units 1 and 2 after emergency diesel generators fail | 0 | 2 | |
| February 3, 1993 | Bay City, Texas | Auxiliary feed-water pumps fail at South Texas Project Units 1 and 2, prompting rapid shutdown of both reactors | 0 | 3 | |
| February 27, 1993 | Buchanan, New York | New York Power Authority shuts down Indian Point Energy Center Unit 3 after AMSAC system fails | 0 | 2 | |
| March 2, 1993 | Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee | Equipment failures and broken pipes cause shut down of Sequoyah Unit 1 | 0 | 3 | |
| December 25, 1993 | Newport, Michigan | Shut down of Fermi Unit 2 after main turbine experienced major failure due to improper maintenance | 0 | 67 | |
| 14 January 1995 | Wiscasset, Maine | Steam generator tubes unexpectedly crack at Maine Yankee nuclear reactor; shut down of the facility for a year | 0 | 62 | |
| May 16, 1995 | Salem, New Jersey | Ventilation systems fail at Salem Units 1 and 2 | 0 | 34 | |
| February 20, 1996 | Waterford, Connecticut | Leaking valve forces shutdown Millstone Nuclear Power Plant Units 1 and 2, multiple equipment failures found | 0 | 254 | |
| May 15, 1996 | Morris, Illinois | Plunging water levels around the nuclear fuel in the reactor's core prompt shut down at Dresden Generating Station | 0 | ? | |
| September 2, 1996 | Crystal River, Florida | Balance-of-plant equipment malfunction forces shutdown and extensive repairs at Crystal River Unit 3 | 0 | 384 | |
| September 5, 1996 | Clinton, Illinois | Reactor recirculation pump fails, prompting shut down of Clinton boiling water reactor | 0 | 38 | |
| September 20, 1996 | Seneca, Illinois | Service water system fails and results in closure of LaSalle Units 1 and 2 for more than 2 years | 0 | 71 | |
| September 9, 1997 | Bridgman, Michigan | Ice condenser containment systems fail at Cook Units 1 and 2 | 0 | 11 | |
| May 25, 1999 | Waterford, Connecticut | Steam leak in feed-water heater causes manual shutdown and damage to control board annunicator at the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant | 0 | 7 | |
| September 29, 1999 | Lower Alloways Creek Township, New Jersey | Major Freon leak at Hope Creek Nuclear Generating Station causes ventilation train chiller to trip, releasing toxic gas and damaging the cooling system | 0 | 2 | |
