Three Mile Island nuclear accidentIn 1979, a nuclear accident occured at Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA. Caused by human and mechanical errors, a cooling system malfunctioned and permitted a partial meltdown of the reactor's core. Efforts to re-establish cooling of the reactor took several days. No evacuation was ordered, but 100,000 people fled. President Jimmy Carter personallyvisited four days later (1 Apr 1979). Disaster was avoided, although some radioactivity leaked into the air. It was the worst U.S. nuclear accident to date, but no radiation injuries were identified. On 21 Jul 1982, a video camera inspected the damage to the core and revealed a large amount of uranium had spilled and melted to the bottom of the pressure vessel.« |
