Tangid, Benalyn B. 05-02- ‘16

CHE EL 4 11:30-12:30 TTHS

A Reaction Paper on the “Three Mile Island” Nuclear Power Plant

Nuclear Power Plants yields a great shift in people’s lives due to the fact that it can offer cheap electricity bills, low fuel costs that depresses green house gas emissions and provides an economic advantage since the energy from nuclear power plant is expected to last for 100 years. Despite of these positive impact to human lives, a greater responsibility and adverse effects can be experience to living things/human’s safety as well. For these reason, regulations in building or operating a Nuclear Power Plants was strictly implemented because of the impact of the Three Mile Island accident.

On March 28, 1979, a series of mechanical and human errors at Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA, resulted in an accident that intensely affected utility industry. A combination of stuck valves and misread gauges led to a partial or about 60% of the core being melted at unit 2 reactors fuel. Inadequate training instrumentation and training programs at that time has also hobbles the operator’s ability to respond to the accident. These accident was also accompanied by communications problems that led to conflicting information to the public that contributes to the public’s fear and confidence to nuclear power plants. In addition, due to the radioactive gases released by the accident, women and children evacuated the area although based from the investigation of Nuclear Regulatory Commission, radioactive released was not serious and were not health hazard. Despite the melting of about 60% of the fuel core, the auxiliary/containment building were able to maintain & contained the damage fuel.

To address these issue about TMI accident, it should serve as a lesson for other nuclear power plant industries and researchers for them to continue improvements in the performance of all nuclear power plants. Abiding regulations in operating nuclear power plants should be followed as well as training programs to the operators for them to understand nuclear reactors and containment structure when an accident arises. Proper information and communications to assigned operators should also be strictly charted to prevent and/or contain such accident. Every machines and other equipment should also be monitored to checked if the operation is on standard. Moreover, before operating a nuclear power plant it should be well equipped based on the regulatory commission for nuclear power plants.