Search results
Worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history
- Three Mile Island is the site of a nuclear power plant in south central Pennsylvania. In March 1979, a series of mechanical and human errors at the plant caused the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history, resulting in a partial meltdown that released dangerous radioactive gasses into the atmosphere.
www.history.com › topics › 1970s
Dec 18, 2009 · Learn about the 1979 partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, which released radioactive gasses into the atmosphere and sparked public fears and anti-nuclear protests. Find out how the accident led to stricter regulations, higher costs and no new nuclear plants in the U.S.
People also ask
What happened at Three Mile Island?
Why was the Three Mile Island accident important?
How did the Three Mile Island accident affect nuclear power?
When did the Three Mile Island nuclear plant melt down?
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown of the Unit 2 reactor (TMI-2) of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station on the Susquehanna River in Londonderry Township, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The accident at Three Mile Island, though minuscule in its health consequences, had widespread and profound effects on the American nuclear power industry. It resulted in the immediate (though temporary) closing of seven operating reactors like those at Three Mile Island.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Mar 28, 2024 · Learn about the 1979 partial meltdown of the TMI-2 reactor in Pennsylvania, which was the most serious accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power history. Find out how the accident led to improved safety regulations, design, training and emergency response.
Nov 24, 2009 · The worst accident in the history of the U.S. nuclear power industry begins when a pressure valve in the Unit-2 reactor at Three Mile Island fails to close.
- Missy Sullivan
- 1 min
May 19, 2023 · The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant closed for good after the plant partially melted down — it's one of the worst US nuclear disasters.
Mar 28, 2019 · On March 28, 1979, Three Mile Island's Unit 2 reactor suffered a partial meltdown after a pump stopped sending water to the steam generators that removed heat from the reactor core. The...