John Large facts for kids
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John Henry Large (born May 4, 1943 – died November 3, 2018) was an English expert engineer. He was best known for his work on nuclear safety. He also studied and reported on accidents involving nuclear power. His work was often talked about in the news.
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Early Life and Education
John Large was born in Woking, England. He grew up in the East End of London. His father was a printer, and his mother ran three pubs. John went to a secondary school in south-east London. After that, he studied at Camberwell School of Art. He then went on to study engineering at Imperial College London.
His Engineering Career
After finishing university, John Large moved to the United States. There, he worked on projects related to US nuclear weapons. He had to become a US citizen for this work. However, he returned to the UK to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War.
From the mid-1960s until 1986, John was a teacher and researcher at Brunel University. He became a lecturer in 1971. During this time, he did research for the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority. This research focused on a type of nuclear reactor called the Advanced Gas-cooled Reactor.
In the 1980s, John Large advised Tony Blair on nuclear issues. Tony Blair was a leading politician at the time.
In 1986, John started his own company in London. It was called Large & Associates. This company focused on figuring out why big engineering systems failed. They mostly worked on nuclear issues. At one point, the company had up to 40 employees.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) asked John Large to visit China, Korea, and Iran. He gave them advice on their nuclear programs. He also went to Japan for Greenpeace after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. His first technical report confirmed that three reactors had melted down. This was before it was officially announced.
John Large was a highly qualified engineer. He was a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Important Projects John Worked On
In 2000, John advised the Government of Gibraltar. He helped them with the nuclear safety of HMS Tireless. This was a nuclear submarine that was being repaired.
John Large also led a team that assessed the risks of raising the Russian submarine Kursk. This submarine had sunk and was badly damaged. In 2001, they successfully recovered it. This was the first time a nuclear-powered submarine had been recovered. John received a medal for this work.
He provided important technical information in a legal case in 2013. This case was about problems with the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California. His evidence helped the authorities decide that the power plant needed a new license. Because of this, the operators decided to close the reactors permanently.
From 2016 to 2017, he reported on a problem called the 'carbon anomaly'. This led to 18 French nuclear power plants being temporarily shut down. He also advised on similar quality control issues in Japan.
His Role as a Critic
John Large sometimes spoke out against the nuclear power industry. Greenpeace and other groups often asked him to provide technical analysis on nuclear issues.
In 1985, he was asked to give evidence to a UK Parliament committee. This was about radioactive waste at the Sellafield nuclear site. He showed how a type of nuclear fuel could react dangerously. He also spoke about how secretive the UK nuclear industry was.
In 2003, John Large wrote a paper about the danger of terrorist attacks on UK nuclear sites. This paper was given to the UK security services. The UK government then stopped it from being published in the UK. However, the work was later published in other countries.
In 2014, many drones flew over French nuclear power plants. John Large gave evidence to the French Parliament about how vulnerable these plants were to drones. His report on the drone activity was kept private. However, it caused a lot of discussion in the news.
His Later Life and Death
John Large passed away on November 3, 2018. He was 75 years old. He died from an abdominal aortic aneurysm. He was survived by his partner, Jenny Sherrell, and a daughter. John and Jenny lived in a converted gatehouse in Woolwich, London. They had worked hard to fix up the old building.
