TMI History

Three Mile Island: The People’s Testament by Aileen Mioko Smith, 1989

This is an excellent article written by Aileen Mioko Smith

for the 10th anniversary of the Three Mile Island Accident in 1989. The author interviewed residents who lived near 

Three Mile Island at the time of the accident and chronicled their stories and experiences, which are stil denied by
government 
and nuclear industry officials. 

Aileen is executive director of Green Action, a Japanese environmental NGO based in Kyoto, Japan.
She was nominated for the
National Book Award (USA) in 1976 for the book "Minamata," co-authored with W. Eugene Smith.
(Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1975.) 

A Chronology of Incidents at TMI Unit-2: 1979-2003

1979

March 28, 1979, 4:00 a.m. - Beginning of the Three Mile Island (TMI) Unit-2 loss-of-coolant, core melt accident. The plant came within 30 minutes of a full meltdown. The reactor vessel was destroyed, and large amounts of unmonitored radiation was released directly into the community.

March 28, 1979, 4:30 p.m. - Press conference of Lt. Governor William Scranton:

GLOSSARY of TERMS AND ACRONYMS

The following list of terms and acronyms may facilitate your reading of the events that have taken place at nuclear power plants on the Susquehanna River and elsewhere.

Three Mile Island and the Vigilant Professor

 By Russell Dupree

 

 Three Mile Island and the Vigilant Professor

    Thirty years ago, April 1, 1979, on the rooftop of a building at the University of Southern Maine in Portland, a nuclear radiation recording device went from being relatively quiescent to rapidly recording extremely high levels of beta radiation, 100 times the normal background levels.

    The equipment had been set up by USM physics professor Charles Armentrout a few days earlier as a teaching project for his students to see if any fission products from the Three Mile Island power plant accident could be detected in Maine. It was a rainy Sunday, five days after the partial meltdown at the power plant just southeast of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

What's Wrong With the NRC Fact Sheet on the 1979 Accident?

 

Re-published by Three Mile Island Alert - February 2009 

Originally published March 2004 

 

Because the Nuclear Regulatory Commission continues to publicize false 

information about the TMI accident, we correct the record once again. The 

NRC’s erroneous statements are listed in the red text which follows. 

“The main feedwater pumps stopped running, caused by either a mechanical 

or electrical failure, which prevented the steam generators from removing 

heat.” 

 

 

Siren Problems at Nuclear Power Plants: A History

 To view a collected history of problems with sirens at nuclear power plants, open pdf. 

30 years later: Do nuclear plants operate more safely?

February 13, 2009 12:47 pm         

The most serious accident in US commercial nuclear power history: people vs. government

By Nicole Back - Staff Writer

After three decades, the debate continues. A crowd gathers near TMI after the 1979 accident. Many residents were demanding information.A crowd gathers near TMI after the 1979 accident. Many residents were demanding information.

 

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission stands by its claim that the most serious accident in US commercial nuclear power history did not cause any physical harm to those who were directly affected.

 

Hundreds of people lived near Three Mile Island when equipment malfunctions, design related problems and worker errors led to the partial meltdown of the TMI-2 reactor core. Residents insist the US government is lying about what really happened to them.

Chronology of Incidents at TMI Unit 1: 2004-2008

Below is a chronological account of safety incidents at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant Unit 1 reactor on the Susquehanna River.

A Corporate History of Three Mile Island

 

Three Mile Island-1  (TMI-1) came on line in September 1974 at a cost of  $400 million. Legal intervention was conducted by the Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Power (ECNP) based in State College.

 

Legal History of Three Mile Island

Three Mile Island-1 (TMI-1) , came on line in September 1974 at a cost of $400 million. Legal intervention was conducted by the Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Power (ECNP) based in State College.

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