0
The accident at three Mile Island affected one of the reactors. After the reactor had shutdown due to a fault in the secondary cooling system, a faulty relief valve in the primary circuit stuck open, which caused reactor coolant to leak out, to atmosphere. This could easily have been dealt with, but due to faulty instruments and lack of awareness on the part of the operators, the problem was not realised until too late. Some of the fuel was uncovered and partially melted, allowing radioactive fission products to escape, this would have been mostly krypton and iodine. Eventually it was realised what was happening and the reactor was stabilised, but by then it had been irrevocably damaged and was a commercial write off. Of course there was great concern locally about radiation, but it seems the conclusion after exhaustive health physics investigation was that no one had been damaged by radiation. Some researchers I know disputed that, but that was the official conclusion. Make what you like of that, I just don't know. See the link below for a full description
Wiki User
∙ 15y ago
Wiki User
∙ 9y agoAt both Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania and Chernobyl in Ukraine, nuclear reactors at power generation stations melted down. More damage was incurred at Chernobyl because there was no containment building.
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
What 1970s incident revived the anti-nuclear movement?
You are probably thinking of the Three Mile Island plant reactor melt down in 1979
What is a site of a famous nuclear disaster of 1986?
Three mile Island near Harrisburg,PA March 28, 1979
What happened to three miles island?
It's still being decontaminated to meet the government's ridiculously strict radiation standards.
Where did the name three mile island come from?
I think it is just the name of the river island where the plant is located, and was called that long before nuclear power was developed, but who named it I don't know, you would have to ask the local history group if there is one.
What were some important events in 1979?
There were many important events in 1979. The USSR invaded Afghanistan, there was a reactor fire on Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania, and the Sahara Desert experienced snow for 30 minutes.
Why is three mile island nuclear plant called three mile island?
Because the power plants were built on an island named Three Mile Island.
What happened at three mile island in march of 1979?
A nuclear fission reaction that was not correctly controlled.
Talk about publicity What disaster happened 12 days after the release of the movie The China Syndrome?
Three-Mile Island
We've all heard of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island but what state is Three Mile Island in?
Pennsylvania
What media is used in Yvonne Jacquette's Three Mile Island?
Why did Yvonne jacquette draw the three mile island
What radioactive material was released at Three Mile Island?
Krypton-85 (85Kr36) was released at Three Mile Island.
Who was president during Three Mile Island?
The president at the time of the Three Mile Island nuclear incident was Jimmy Carter.
Where and when did the nuclear meltdown at three mile island happen?
The Three Mile Island accident was a nuclear meltdown which occurred at the Three Mile Island power plant in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States on March 28, 1979.
How big is three mile island nuclear facility?
the facility a three mile island takes up most of the island, so it is about 2 or 3 miles square
What happened in Three Mile Island in the 1970s?
Three Mile Island related to an incident which occurred in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania on March 28th, 1979. On this Wednesday morning, around the time of 4am, there was a partial nuclear meltdown which released radioactive gases and radioactive iodine into the environment.
Did three mile island blowup?
Yes.
In what ways did the incident at Three Mile Island differ from that at Chernobyl?
The Three Mile Island incident in 1979 was a partial meltdown resulting from equipment malfunctions and operator errors, with no immediate fatalities and limited off-site impact. In contrast, the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 was a full-scale meltdown caused by a flawed reactor design and operator errors, resulting in immediate deaths, widespread radioactive contamination, and long-term health and environmental consequences.
