The Three Mile Island accident was a partial meltdown of the nuclear reactor at Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island plant near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the most serious accident in the history of commercial nuclear power in the United States. It began with a failure in the cooling system and a stuck valve, and operators, misled by confusing instrument readings, made the situation worse by shutting down emergency cooling. Part of the core melted, but most of the radioactive material stayed inside the containment building, and studies found that the radiation released was very small. No one was killed. The accident increased public fears, helped by the release of the film The China Syndrome days before, and it led to stricter regulation and a long pause in new reactor construction.
Before and after
- from 17 February 1979 to 16 March 1979Sino-Vietnamese War
- 4 March 1979Discovery of Metis
- 5 March 1979Discovery of Thebe
- 5 March 1979Voyager 1 reveals Jupiter and its volcanic moon Io
- 28 March 1979Three Mile Island accident
- 4 April 1979Birth of Heath Ledger
- 5 April 1979Establishment of Kakadu National Park
- 17 May 1979Establishment of Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park
- 19 May 1979Birth of Diego Forlán
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The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.