TMI plus 5: Nuclear power on the ropes: The 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant triggered a domino reaction that threatens the future of the U.S. nuclear power industry

Abstract

This special report on the condition of US nuclear power generation five years after the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island (TMI), is presented in five parts. Part I discusses the progress in TMI's cleanup. Part II looks at how studies of TMI have influenced US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's action plan to alter existing nuclear reactors. Part III examines improvement in the following area: hardware, control-room instrumentation, operator training, reactor maintenance and communications. Part IV describes how incidents at sites other than TMI have expanded the nuclear knowledge base. Part V focuses on the fact that the issues may be clearer and the problems better defined, but solutions may not be simple and will often involve compromise.