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TMI-1
The Three Mile Island unit 1 power plant, has been operating since 1974. The power plant is still functioning to this day. -
TMI-2
The TMI-2 power plant was the reactor that suffered a partial meltdown that caused the nuclear accident. It was built in 1968, the reactor didn't start running until December 1978. -
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Impact of the Accident
Some of the major changes that have occurred since the accident has been that they had to upgrade the plant design and equipment requirements,they enhanced emergency preparedness, and expanded the NRC's resident inspector program. -
Cause of the Accident
March 28, 1979, people and the failures of mechanics caused the cooling system to malfunction. This caused the damage of the reactor core. The radioactive gas leaked out of the core. No radiation was let into the air of the community of Middletown, Pennsylvania. -
Reaction to the Accident
People in the area became frightened. Nobody knew what was going on. They soon had to be evacuated. -
Aftermath
Caused a slow down in buliding new plants. New regulations were put into place. -
CRISIS ended
Because of the melting fuel, it created a large hydrogen bubble inside the unit. Officials were worried that it might cause an explosion, releasing amounts of radioactive material. They advised that preschoolers and pregnant woman within a five mile radius of the plant to evacuate the area. Three days later, the experts determined the hydrogen bubble could not burn or explode. -
First Phase of Clean Up
Workers shipped 150 tons of radioactive parts of the destruction from Pennsylvania to Idaho for storage. The reactor that was destroyed was sealed into the walls of the reactor building. The radiation that was produced from the reactor, will naturally go away. -
The Second Phase
The final phrase of the destruction cleanup was finished when the last of the 8.44 million liters of contaminated water was evaporated. The water had to be sent through an electrical evaporator, which was a devise that turns water into steam containing small amounts of tritium, a radioactive form of hydrogen, for about two years. The 14-year cleanup cost was estimated to be one billion dollars. -
Retire
Three Mile Island could retire in 2019. As many as 675 jobs will be lost.
