Learn More About Nuclear Power
This picture, take by Martha Cooper of the Associated Press, shows perfectly what is put at risk when nuclear power is used carelessly.
When I first became interested in nulcear power, we didn't even have a computer. My interest was sparked by a T.V. program that explained how different disasters happened. One of the shows dealed with the near meltdown of a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania called Three Mile Island. After seeing the show, I asked my mom about it. She reluctantly told me more about the accident. She told me that God had truly been with us during that time. The more I read into the subject, the more I realize she was right.
I feel it is important we know about our past, so I am providing links to pages at which you can find out about the little talked about history of nuclear
power. I also included a list of other places you can look for information on nuclear power.
Penn State Libraries: Three Mile Island 2 (TMI-2) Recovery and Decontamination
Washingtonpost.com: Three Mile Island
TMI Citizens Monitoring Network
I strongly suggest you not research your interest solely on the Internet. If you are curious on the history of nuclear power and Three Mile Island, you should go to your local library as well and look up 'nuclear power' and/or 'Three Mile Island'. Books I've found especially useful are-
Meltdown: A Race Against Nuclear Disaster at Three Mile Island
A Reporter's Story By Wilborn Hampton
Published By[Cambridge, Massachusetts]: Candlewick Press, 2001
Note: This is an EXCELLENT book on the disaster at Three Mile Island. It is by far the most engaging book I've read on TMI and it is written in terms that anyone can understand- you don't have to be a scientist to be able to read it. This book brings home the terror of those days in March and April 1979 because it tells the story through the eyes of those who were there and had the 'monster' sitting in their backyards as well as the eyes of an outsider with an objective point-of-view. I highly recommend this book and don't be put off by the fact that it might be in the children's section of the library (that's what it was listed as at my library)- it is certainly NOT a children's book, although children can read it. Also includes information on the atomic age and Hiroshima
as well as the catastrophe at Chernobyl in 1986. An all-around great book for young and old about the dangers we bring on ourselves.
Three Mile Island: a report to the Commissioners and to the public.
By U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Published By [Washington, D.C.] : Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Special Inquiry Group, [1980]
Note: A copy of this report should be on hand at any library nation-wide. If it's not, it SHOULD BE- ask your librarian if it is possible to get the report from another library branch. They will be more than happy to help you. :)
The need for change: the legacy of TMI:report of the President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island.
By United States. President's Commission on the Accident at Three Mile Island
Published By New York: Pergamon Press, 1979.
Note: Again, a copy of this report should be on hand at any library nation-wide.
And 'Must See T.V.' for anyone interested in TMI is PBS' show The American Experience- Meltdown At Three Mile Island. This is an excellent program- certainly a lot better than the T.V. show that originally got me into researching the history of TMI. You should be able to barrow a copy of this episode from your local library for a small fee. "HELL NO, WE WON'T GLOW!"
^Anti-Nuclear Power Slogan From The 1970's
Closed forever is more like it.
In 1979, when the Three Mile Nuclear Power Plant (the cooling towers of which you can see in the background of this picture) suffered a meltdown, there were about 25,000 living near the plant. The plant is located in the middle of farm country. Had the plant completely meltdown, that farmland would have been destroyed forever and thousands would have been killed.
It is enough to stop the heart...
