Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (TMI)is a civilian nuclear power plant located on Three Mile Island in the Susquehanna River, in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County, south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States.[1] It has two separate generators, known as TMI-1 and TMI-2. The plant is best known for having been the site of the worst civilian nuclear accident in United States history on March 29, 1979, when TMI-2 suffered a partial meltdown. According to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the accident resulted in no deaths or injuries to plant workers or members of nearby communities,[2] a contention which is disputed by some academics, journalists and local residents. The reactor core of TMI-2 has since been removed from the site, but the site has not been decommissioned yet.[3]
Three Mile Island is so named because it is located 3 miles downriver from Middletown, Pennsylvania. The plant was originally built by General Public Utilities Corporation, later renamed GPU Incorporated.[4] The plant was operated by Metropolitan Edison Company(Met-Ed), a subsidiary of the GPU Energy division. During 2001 GPU Inc. merged with FirstEnergy Corporation, through the selling of its outstanding common stock.[5]
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[edit]Three Mile Island Unit 1
The Three Mile Island Unit 1 is a pressurized water reactor designed by Babcock and Wilcox (B&W) with a net generating capacity of 802 MWe. The initial construction cost was $400 million. Unit 1 first came online on April 19, 1974 and began commercial operations on September 2, 1974.[6] TMI-1 is licensed to operate for 40 years from its first run, which means it may operate until 19 April 2014.[7] When TMI-2 suffered its accident in 1979, TMI-1 was offline for refueling. It was brought back online in October 1985, after public opposition, several federal court injunctions, and some technical and regulatory complications.[8] Exelon Corp., the current owners, have applied to extend the operating license for another 20 years.[9]
[edit]Three Mile Island Unit 2
The Three Mile Island Unit 2 was also a pressurized water reactor constructed by B&W, similar to Unit 1. The only difference was that TMI-2 was slightly larger with a net generating capacity of 906 MWe, compared to TMI-1 which delivers 802 MWe. Unit 2 received its operating license on 8 February 1978, and began commercial operation on 30 December 1978.[10]
[edit]Accident
On March 29, 1979, there was a cooling system malfunction that caused a partial melt-down of thereactor core. This loss of coolant accident resulted in the release of a significant amount of radioactivity, estimated at 43,000 curies (1.59 PBq) of radioactive krypton gas, but less than 20 curies (740 GBq) of the especially hazardous iodine-131, into the surrounding environment.[2]
The nuclear power industry claims that there were no deaths, injuries or adverse health effects from the accident,[11] but a peer-reviewed study by Steven Wing of the University of North Carolina found that lung cancer and leukemia rates were 2 to 10 times higher downwind of TMI than upwind, and also showed that there was plant and animal chromosomal damage, but without considering the effects of stress or improved screening.[12] In addition, the Radiation and Public Health Project reported a spike in infant mortality in the downwind communities two years after the accident. [13][14]
The incident was widely publicized nationally and internationally, and had far-reaching effects on public opinion, particularly in the United States. The China Syndrome, a movie about a nuclear meltdown which was released just 12 days before the disaster, became a blockbuster hit.[15]
[edit]Post-accident
Following the accident, the plant was transferred under the ownership and operation of a new subsidiary company, GPU Nuclear (GPUN), in a bid to disassociate itself from itself.[16] GPUN continued to operate TMI-1 until its 1999 sale to AmerGen Energy Corporation, a joint venture of Philadelphia Electric Company Energy, Inc. (PECO Energy) and British Energy Group Plc.[17]
Exelon Corporation was created in October 2000 by the merger of PECO Energy Company and Unicom, of Philadelphia and Chicago respectively.[18] Unicom owned Commonwealth Edison. The PECO share in AmerGen was acquired by Exelon during late 2000. Exelon acquired British Energy's share in AmerGen in 2003,[19] and transferred the plant under the direct ownership and operation of its Exelon Nuclear business unit.[20][21]
[edit]References in popular culture
- In the opening chapter of the manga Saint Seiya Episode G, the Three Mile Island Accident is shown to be caused by a renegade apprentice who resented having been denied promotion to Saint level (and the consequent right to don a Saint Cloth). The situation is resolved by Gold Saint Leo Aiolia.
- In The Simpsons, Homer Simpson is narrowly able to avert a nuclear meltdown to which Montgomery Burns comments he turned a "possible Chernobyl into a mere Three Mile Island."
- In Viva La Bam Bam Margera and his crew are abandoned on an small island next to Three Mile Island.
- Adam Bomb, the WWE professional wrestler, was billed as hailing from Three Mile Island.
- In the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the island is the location of a secret holding facility for mutants undergoing experimentation, either in addition to or under the guise of a nuclear power plant (it is unclear in the film). During a climactic battle among Wolverine, Sabertooth, and Weapon XI, one of the cooling towers is destroyed. There is some discussion whether this was an allusion to the accident or not, but it is unclear in the film if the meltdown is a result of the battle
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