40 years in the past: Three Mile Island nuclear accident

It occurs this coming Thursday … the 40th anniversary of the worst nuclear energy plant accident in U.S. historical past.

A collection of mishaps had created an emergency at one of many two reactors on the Three Mile Island plant close to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – a partial meltdown, inflicting the discharge of a small quantity of radiation into the ambiance.

Public well being officers later declared the radiation leak inconsequential, however the injury to public confidence in nuclear energy had been achieved.

The broken reactor was shut down for good, and tighter laws had been imposed on the whole trade. The development of latest vegetation stalled throughout the land.

Now, 4 a long time later, a punctuation mark: Three Mile Island’s present proprietor says will probably be shutting down the plant’s solely different reactor by the tip of the yr.

       
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Story produced by Charis Satchell.