Time Period: 1979
On the morning of March 28, 1979, along the banks of the Susquehanna River, a reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear power facility near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, suddenly overheated. Radiation releases forced the evacuation of thousands of people.
At the time, Three Mile Island was one of America's newest and biggest nuclear power plants. A leaky pipe and faulty valve forced an emergency shutdown. Inside the control room, inadequate instruments and poorly trained operators led officials to believe that the radioactive core was safely covered with coolant. In fact, the reactor was melting. Several hours passed before plant officials informed local authorities about the shutdown. At first, they said the situation was under control. Then they said the reactor was still unstable, and the radiation was released into the surrounding community. Over the next few days, things got worse. Radioactive gas continued to escape. The governor called for a limited evacuation. To assure the public that the situation was under control, President Jimmy Carter, a nuclear engineer himself, toured the facility with the first lady at his side. Five days after the accident, technicians finally restabilized the reactor and the 140,000 evacuees returned home.
Two decades later, some residents are still very bitter over the way the accident was handled. PEople still debate whether radiation releases harmed the public. Plant officials claim hat the average radiation exposure was equivalent to a chest X-ray. HOwever, researchers from UNC recently found an alarming incidence of cancer near the plant.
Many people who live near the plant now keep "Rad Alert" devices inside their homes. Some residents still live in fear and question if the accident somehow causes the illnesses of the residents near the plant. Although there is no proof that radiation has caused certain illnesses and mutations in the area, people still linger in fear.
Three Mile Island remains the site of America's worst commercial nuclear accident.