THREE MILE ISLAND - The Disaster
In south-central Pennsylvania, Three Mile Island is home to a nuclear power facility. The worst commercial nuclear disaster in US history occurred at the facility in March 1979, when a series of mechanical and human mistakes resulted in a partial meltdown that spewed deadly radioactive vapors into the atmosphere. Since the accident at Three Mile Island, the public has been wary of nuclear power, and no new nuclear power facilities have been developed in the United States. The Three Mile Island nuclear power facility, located in Londonderry Township, Pennsylvania, on a tiny island in the Susquehanna River about south of Harrisburg, began development in 1968. The second of the site’s two nuclear reactors began producing power in 1978, bringing the project’s construction to a close.
The China Syndrome
In March of 1979, a thriller named The China Syndrome was released in theatres. Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon, and Michael Douglas starred in the picture, which dealt with the aftermath of a hypothetical nuclear meltdown at a reactor north of Los Angeles.
At the time, the nuclear industry viewed The China Syndrome narrative as implausible. Nuclear meltdowns, which occur when a nuclear reactor overheats, causing radioactive fuel to melt, are considered “black swan” events by many experts.
The Accident
A mechanical or electrical malfunction in the early morning hours of March 28, 1979, triggered an improbable chain of events that resulted in a partial meltdown at the Unit 2 reactor. The water pumps that were supposed to keep the radioactive fuel in the reactor core cool broke down. Plant personnel was unaware that the reactor was loosing coolant and initiated a sequence of steps that exacerbated the condition. The reactor core was further deprived of water supply, causing it to overheat.
Half of the reactor core melted as the radioactive fuel melted through its metal containment. As a geyser of steam erupted from the plant’s top, trace amounts of radioactive vapors leaked into the neighboring population. Officials were concerned that the melting fuel would generate a big hydrogen bubble inside the unit, which may spark an explosion, unleashing much more hazardous material.
Governor Dick Thornburgh of Pennsylvania recommended pregnant women and children under the age of five to leave the area within a five-mile radius of the plant. Three days later, specialists judged that the hydrogen bubble could not burn or burst, and the problem was over.
The Impact
Following the Three Mile Island (or TMI) disaster, popular approval for nuclear power dropped from 69 percent in 1977 to 46 percent in 1979.
As a consequence of the TMI catastrophe, an estimated 2.1 million people were exposed to minor levels of radiation. There are no known negative effects on one’s health. Several government agencies and non-profit organizations conducted research, but no negative impacts were linked to these exposures.
A thorough investigation into the disaster resulted in significant changes in the way nuclear power facilities are governed in the United States. Officials announced a temporary hold on the licensing of all new reactors while federal criteria for safety controls and emergency response preparation became increasingly stringent. Following the Three Mile Island disaster, required design improvements resulted in greater prices and longer building periods for new nuclear reactors. As a result, nuclear reactor building has plummeted. In the United States, no nuclear power facilities built after 1974 have been completed.
The cleanup process took 14 years and cost an estimated $1 billion. After the disaster, the damaged reactor was permanently closed and encased in concrete. Workers eventually carried 15 tonnes of radioactive trash to a nuclear waste storage site in Idaho after removing radioactive fuel and water.
The disaster at Three Mile Island fueled the anti-nuclear movement in the United States. In the early 1960s, during the height of the Cold War, the anti-nuclear movement arose as a mass movement against the worldwide nuclear conflict. In response to these developments at Three Mile Island, there were high-profile rallies around the nation, including one in New York in 1979 that drew 200,000 people.
Three Mile Island Today
The Unit 1 reactor of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station produces electricity now. Exelon Corporation owns and operates the Unit 1 reactor.
Exelon announced in 2017 that the plant would be closed in 2019. It could take up to ten years to decommission the remaining reactor.
Sources
- https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/15/us/14-year-cleanup-at-three-mile-island-concludes.html#:~:text=The%20cleanup%20at%20the%20Three,at%20Three%20Mile%20Island's%20No.
- https://abcnews.go.com/US/history-mile-island-nuclear-plant-1979-reactor-accident/story?id=47731028
