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Nicholas Whetstine Mr.Kolodzieczyk American Literature 17 April 2012 Three Mile Island- The Meltdown Three Mile Island is an event many do not know about. When did it happen, where is Three Mile Island, how did this occur? Was this event very dangerous or was it very harmless to the surrounding environment? How long did it take them to clean it up and how much did it cost? Three Mile Island what really happened? Three Mile Island meltdown what day, what time and what really happened? The United States Nuclear Commission says, The accident at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) nuclear power plant near Middletown, Pa., on March 28, 1979, was the most serious in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant operating history, even though it led to no deaths or injuries to plant workers or members of the nearby community (NCR). Which says that the event toke place in Middleton, Pennsylvania on March 28, 1979. Also The United States Nuclear Commission says, The accident began about 4:00 a.m. on March 28, 1979, when the plant experienced a failure in the secondary, non-nuclear section of the plant. The main feedwater pumps stopped running, caused by either a mechanical or electrical failure, which prevented the steam generators from removing heat. First the turbine, then the reactor automatically shut down. Immediately, the pressure in the primary system (the nuclear portion of the plant) began to increase. In order to prevent that pressure from becoming excessive, the pilot-operated relief valve (a valve located at the top of the pressurizer) opened. The valve should have closed when the pressure decreased by a certain amount, but it did not. Signals available to the operator failed to show that the valve was still open. As a result, cooling water poured out of the stuck-open valve and caused the core

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of the reactor to overheat (NCR). This explains that the cause of the problem was that a relief valve got stuck open at 4:00 in the morning causing the meltdown. Or also by what On This Day said, At about 4:00 a.m. on March 28, 1979, a pump failure in a secondary (non-nuclear) system of the reactor stopped steam generators from removing heat from the unit, increasing the pressure in the primary (nuclear) portion (On This Day). This whole issue could have been prevented by a simple design flaw. Was this meltdown dangerous to environment or was this completely safe to everything around it. The United States Environmental Protection Agency says, Some radioactive gases did escape to the atmosphere. The estimated average dose to area residents was about 1 millirem, about 1/6 the exposure from a full set of chest x-rays, and about 1/100th the natural radioactive background dose for the area. The maximum dose to a person at the site boundary would have been less than 100 millirem (EPA). Which means the doses of radiation was completely safe for the residents in the area and the personnel working on the site. The Smithsonian National Museum of American History said, Assured that any explosion is at least a couple days away, President and Mrs. Jimmy Carter tour the TMI facility early in the afternoon. In the hours following their visit, the expert consensus swings around to the opposite viewthat a hydrogen explosion is simply not possible. The crisis is overalthough no one says that loud and clear (Smithsonian). Meaning that the President went to the site to prove to the public that is was all clear. So the meltdown at Three Mile Island was completely safe because our own government will not allow the President go somewhere that is not safe for his wellbeing. How much did it cost to cleanup this disaster and how long did it really take to clean up the meltdown? The World Nuclear Association said, The cleanup of the damaged nuclear reactor system at TMI-2 took nearly 12 years and cost approximately US$973 million. The

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cleanup was uniquely challenging technically and radiologically. Plant surfaces had to be decontaminated. Water used and stored during the cleanup had to be processed. And about 100 tonnes of damaged uranium fuel had to be removed from the reactor vessel -- all without hazard to cleanup workers or the public (WNA). This means that the whole cleanup toke $973 million and twelve years to cleanup. A very surprising thing to the Environment Protection Agency arrived immediately to clean up this whole issue. Hears a quote by the Environment Protection Agency website, On March 28, EPA arrived and immediately stationed experts with radiation monitoring equipment around the power plant to assess the potential for radiation exposure to people living around the plant. After the accident, EPA remained in the area for eight years, maintaining a field office monitoring the air. EPA operated a continuous radiation monitoring network in the area surrounding the plant to ensure that public health and the environment were protected. EPA transferred this activity to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1989 (EPA). So this meltdown was a very serious issue on cleaning up. So there is a lot that people do not know about the whole Three Mile Island meltdown on March 28, 1979. Like how it cost a total of twelve years to cleanup and a total of $973 million. Also most did not know that the meltdown was a completely safe issue that is like getting an xray at the doctors. Or they did not know that the whole issue was caused by a simple relief pressure valve malfunction. So was it really worth $973 million worth of cleanup over a simple relief valve malfunction, hope that the nuclear industry learns from this and fixes this.

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Works Citied Page NRC: Background on the Three Mile Island. United States Nuclear Commission. U.S.NCR, 15 Mar 2011. Web. 26 Mar 2012. < http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/factsheets/3mile-isle.html>. Nuclear Incidents: Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant. United States Environmental Agency. United States Environmental Agency, 15 Feb 2012. Web. 2 Apr 2012. < http://www. epa.gov/radiation/rert/tmi.html>. On This Day: Nuclear Meltdown Occurs at Three Mile Island. Finding Ducinea. Ducinea Media, 28 Mar 2011. Web. 2 Apr 2012. <http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-thisday/March-April-08/On-this-Day--Nuclear-Meltdown-at-Three-Mile-Island.html>. Three Mile Island Accident. World Nuclear Association. World Nuclear Association, Jan 2012. Web. 28 Mar 2012. < http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf36.html>. Three Mile Island: The Inside Story. Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Smithsonian National Museum of American History, n.d. Web. 2 Apr 2012. <http://americanhistory.si.edu/tmi/tmi04.htm>.