Nuclear Accident at Three Mile Island
I’m going to tell you about the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. On March 28, 1979, the power plant built near Middletown, PA partially melted down. Still today it is the most serious accident in U.S. nuclear power plant operating history. The accident is said to have been caused by a combination of equipment malfunctions, design problems, as well as worker errors. (www.NRC.gov/threemileisland) The accident started at 4am on wednesday, March 28, 1979, when the plant had a failure in the non-nuclear section that was either mechanical or electrical. This failure prevented the main water pump from allowing water to the main steam generators. The generators remove the heat from the reactor core. The build-up of heat caused the plant’s turbine generator and the actual reactor to shut down automatically. This made the pressure to build in the nuclear portion of the plant. The only way to relieve the pressure was for the pilot operated relief valve to open. Once open the valve should have closed when the pressure fell to its normal levels. Instead, it was stuck open because of an attempt by workers to fix a blockage, caused by resin in one of the eight polishers in the plant. The …show more content…
According to the American Nuclear Society, radioactive gases and iodine-131 (known to cause thyroid cancer) were released in the environment. Based on the many tests, it was said that there were no increases in cancer deaths within 10 miles of the site. Which concluded that the accident has had no long term health effects. Because many people thought that there were health issues caused by the meltdown, groups succeeded in a lawsuit, winning $25 million in settlements which later grew to over $82 million over years. A total of $15 million was paid out to parents that had children with birth defects.
I’m going to tell you about the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. On March 28, 1979, the power plant built near Middletown, PA partially melted down. Still today it is the most serious accident in U.S. nuclear power plant operating history. The accident is said to have been caused by a combination of equipment malfunctions, design problems, as well as worker errors. (www.NRC.gov/threemileisland) The accident started at 4am on wednesday, March 28, 1979, when the plant had a failure in the non-nuclear section that was either mechanical or electrical. This failure prevented the main water pump from allowing water to the main steam generators. The generators remove the heat from the reactor core. The build-up of heat caused the plant’s turbine generator and the actual reactor to shut down automatically. This made the pressure to build in the nuclear portion of the plant. The only way to relieve the pressure was for the pilot operated relief valve to open. Once open the valve should have closed when the pressure fell to its normal levels. Instead, it was stuck open because of an attempt by workers to fix a blockage, caused by resin in one of the eight polishers in the plant. The …show more content…
According to the American Nuclear Society, radioactive gases and iodine-131 (known to cause thyroid cancer) were released in the environment. Based on the many tests, it was said that there were no increases in cancer deaths within 10 miles of the site. Which concluded that the accident has had no long term health effects. Because many people thought that there were health issues caused by the meltdown, groups succeeded in a lawsuit, winning $25 million in settlements which later grew to over $82 million over years. A total of $15 million was paid out to parents that had children with birth defects.