The Accident at Three Mile Island

On March 28, 1979, what has been called the worst accident in the history of commercial nuclear power generation occurred at the Three Mile Island no. 2 reactor unit in Pennsylvania. The sequence of events that occurred during the first 16 h of the incident are described. There was extensive damage to the core of the reactor as well as some release of gaseous fission products from the station. However, the radiation doses received by the general public as a result of exposure to this released radioactivity were so small that there will be no detectable adverse health effects. Nevertheless, the accident at Three Mile Island will have a profound effect on commercial nuclear power in the United States and throughout the world.