News

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. [img_assist|nid=112|title=A crowd gathers near TMI after the 1979 accident. Many residents were demanding information.|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=72|height=50]

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.

(Harrisburg, Pa) - Three Mile Island Alert, Inc. filed a Petition for 

Rulemaking with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) on

April 11, 2007 to extend host school pick-up centers at least five miles 

and preferably 10 miles beyond the plume exposure boundary zone of
Three Mile Island.  Host-schools are the destination points that children

are transportedto for “safe keeping” until their parents, guardians or

primary caregivers arrive.

This analysis was published in the Press And Journal of Middletown, Pa., in September 2008.

By Marlene Lang  

We who live and work and go to school in Middletown are living and working and going to school at a crucial moment in the history of nuclear power. And so is the rest of the nation, of course. 

(Harrisburg, Pa) - The core meltdown at Three Mile Island Unit-2 (TMI) beginning on March 28, 1979 ignited a fierce debate about the role of commercial nuclear power. 

Eric Epstein, Chairman of TMI-Alert said, “In the three decades following the melt down, Americans have been exposed to a mercurial flow of misleading information relating to nuclear power. Nuclear energy is not a safe, secure or economical source of energy.”

Andrew Stein, TMIA’s economist, stated: “Three core problems and unresolved questions associated with nuclear power production continue to bedevil the industry: 

“Where is the waste going to go?” 

“Where is the water going to come from?”

“Why is 'Wall Street' sitting on the sidelines?”

Stein added, “In the last decade, costs associated with security, fuel, labor and nuclear waste disposal have priced nuclear power out of the marketplace.”

By Eric Epstein 

  Three Mile Island Alert, Inc. (TMIA) has been actively involved with issues pertaining to nuclear decommissioning since the March 1979 accident at Three Mile Island (TMI) Unit-2.  Specifically, We've asked: Who should pay the cost of nuclear decommissioning and radioactive waste management?