Three Mile Island - 45 years on
Posted: 31st March 2024
Forty-five years ago, Pennsylvania suffered a historic tragedy when one of the nuclear reactors at Three Mile Island experienced a partial meltdown. The accident, which occurred at the Generating Station along the Susquehanna River on March 28, 1979, went down in history as the most serious nuclear power plant accident in the United States. An issue with a pressure valve and a series of human errors led to radioactive steam pouring out of the plant, resulting in days of high radiation levels. The accident forever changed the nuclear energy industry. Though no mandatory evacuation was ever put in place, the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission still recommended that pregnant women and small children leave the area. It’s estimated about 40% of people evacuated the area that day. A 2023 article from the History Channel calls the official response to the Three Mile Island partial meltdown a “textbook example of what not to do during an emergency.” According to the NRC, researchers were able to determine that the meltdown had “negligible effects on the physical health of individuals or the environment” — but that’s not to say there weren’t any lasting impacts.