What Can We Learn From the Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident?

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Accident Title: Partial Meltdown and Radioactive Release at the Nuclear Facility on Three Mile Island

Major Damage: The partial meltdown of the radioactive core at one of the nuclear reactors onsite and uncontrolled release of steam containing radioactive components. The release occurred in a residential area due to the location of the plant and although no measurable health effects have been reported, cleanup of the site took almost two decades and cost over 200 million dollars. The reactor involved in the accident has been decommissioned permanently and the site it was located on put under perpetual storage and observation.

Date: Wednesday, March 28th, 1979 at 4am

Location: Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania

Events

1. Major accident scenario

In the early morning of March 28th 1979, the nuclear plant located on Three Mile Island in southeastern Pennsylvania was operating as usual. The plant itself had been operating for nearly a decade without incident. Around 4pm, a mechanical failure within the cooling system of the reactor occurred. This failure resulted in cooling water failing to flow adequately to cool the reactor. This resulted in the cooling water to be heated beyond safe operating limits of the process. As the cooling water heated, some of the liquid was converted to steam that increased the pressure within unit. Operators in the plant realized that cooling system had failed and began taking steps to protect the reactor and safely shut it down. In order to release the pressure from the cooling system and the reactor, the opening of an operator controlled pressure relief valve was required. This valve was opened using the control systems available to the operators, not through manually opening the valve as the valv...

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...ate the effects that an accident can have on both their company and the rest of their industry.

Bibliography

• Houts, Peter S., Paul D. Cleary, and Teh-wei Hu. The Three Mile Island Crisis: Psychological, Social, and Economic Impacts on the Surrounding Population. University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 1988. Print.

• King, L. J., and J. H. Opelka. Three Mile Island Cleanup: Experiences, Waste Disposal, and Environmental Impact. New York, NY: American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 1982. Print.

• Three Mile Island Nuclear Powerplant Accident, Presidential Commission for Investigation:. Washington: United States Congress, 1979. Print.

• "Backgrounder on the Three Mile Island Accident." NRC:. United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 01 Feb. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html

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