Three Mile Island Research Paper

This research paper discusses the Three Mile Island incident to include what started it, the results in the aftermath, and how it could have been prevented. The Three Mile Island Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor, near Middletown, Pa., partially melted down on March 28, 1979. This was the most serious accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant operating history, although its small radioactive releases had no detectable health effects on plant workers or the public. Its aftermath brought about sweeping changes involving emergency response planning, reactor operator training, human factors engineering, radiation protection, and many other areas of nuclear power plant operations. It also caused the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) to tighten and

The electrical failure caused the operator to not know that the valve was still open, which led to cooling water pouring out of the valve and caused the reactor core to overheat. As a result of all of these things, the instruments that the operators read to know what was happening provided confusing information. The operators could not tell how much coolant was in the reactor core because they didn't

As humans we want to have a good life, have a home, maybe a family and feel safe. With the advances in industry such as energy production we can have more luxuries which include heat, lights and running water. However, as technology gets bigger and better there will always be risks that can lead to catastrophic outcomes. Luckily for the United States; we did not have a disastrous outcome with a nuclear power plant such as the 1986’s Chernobyl Nuclear Power plant catastrophe, making, ”the Chernobyl disaster the only level 7 incident on the International Nuclear Event Scales (INES) making it the biggest man-made disaster of all time” (List 25, 2014) . Three Mile Island power plants is located near Middletown Pennsylvania. On March 28, 1979, the plant had a partial meltdown. Even though the Three Mile Island power plant incident did not have any adverse health effects, Three Mile Island had an impact on the nuclear industry development and politically in the United States.

In 2019 the government of pennsylvania is deciding to close 3 mile island. I have to disagree with the decision they are making to close Three mile island. They are making a huge mistake and I don't think they realize that. Power plants are taking over the world to create energy. Fossil fuels are not the way to go if the government wants to do that. Basically fossil fuels were being used used since like the 1900s and we use a lot of it and people don't understand that fossil fuels are bad for us and if we run out and we don't calculate it right then we will be stuck with nothing.

Creswell was not the only one to notice the problem. At the Tennessee Valley Authority, whistle-blower and engineer, Carl Michelson had found a major flaw in the system in Unit Two: The pipe connecting the pressurizer to the rest of the system dips. Like the U-shaped sink drain trap at home, the bend works as a vapor lock. This is great at home, because it keeps the sewer gasses from backing up. Here, it meant that the water cooling the nuclear waste could turn to steam, and this steam could be trapped in the main loop with no safe ventilation route. Michelson realized that if the plant had such an occurrence after a few years running, the results could be disastrous, but he was also aware of how the NRC worked and how expensive it is to change equipment. Michelson was set on getting management to notice the problem, despite their opposition.

At four o’clock in the morning, on March 28th, 1979, reactor two at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant overheated due to a cooling pipe that was mistakenly closed. After a series of mechanical and human errors, reactor two partially melted down. To release pressure in the chamber radioactive gasses had to be released into the atmosphere. Residents of nearby town Londonderry, Pennsylvania, were not evacuated as they were never exposed to unsafe levels of radiation. It was not for hours after the incident at the power plant had been of concern that the mayor of Londonderry was alerted. Citizens of Londonderry and the nearby areas were unaware of evacuation and contingency

Three Mile Island is located in Middletown, Pennsylvania. The plant had a partial meltdown on March 28,1979. This incident was recorded as the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history. The accident started when there was a failure in the non-nuclear section of the plant. Either a mechanical or electrical failure prevented the main feedwater pumps from sending water to the steam generators

The Three Mile Island disaster of 1979 was the most serious commercial nuclear power plant accident in the United States. Located in Pennsylvania, a reactor at the plant melted partially on March 28 1979. This disaster brought changes involving emergency response planning, human factors engineering, reactor operator training, radiation protection, and other nuclear power plant operations (United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2014). In addition, the regulatory oversight was tightened by the NRC as well as heightened to significantly enhance reactor safety in the United States (United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 2014). Moreover, the Three Mile Island has debatable reviews on its lasting impacts and has impacted the nuclear

Nuclear power is a useful resource, but it can also be dangerous in certain cases. March 28, 1979 is an example of one of these situations. On that date, the Three Mile Island (TMI) power plant in Pennsylvania experienced the “worst accident in the history of commercial nuclear power in the United States” (Three Mile Island, 2014). Located near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the plant, as seen to the left, had originally been built to locally provide electricity and power. For five years, the first pressurized water reactor located there had functioned properly after being “entered into service in 1974” (Three Mile Island Accident, 2001). The second unit, known as the TMI-2, began operating late December 1978,

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Steam accumulated inside the reactor was no more utilized by the turbine and there was a spike in temperature of the nucleus of the reactor. Indeed, even the helper pumps were closed down for cleaning and this was the reason as why there was no water in the plant’s reactor. The engineers in the controller room quickly close the auto safety valve, however the administrators didn't understand that the help valve was blocked and it was not shut. They imagined that the core is protected by looking at the marker of emergency assistance valve in the controller room. Here the mishap happens, the administrators by eluding the pointer missed to weigh the genuine issue in the reactor. Because of the opening of emergency assistance valve, the cool water in the reactor spilled out through valve and this heated the plant and made reactor hotter. The water dripped from the open valve spilled into an adjacent building discharging radioactive gasses. Following a few hours' main pumps was worked to put water in the reactor and the reactor started to cool down. Later it came to realize that hydrogen air pockets were shaped on the interior of the plant. If it is exposed to the air, an expansive blast can happen and resulting in many deaths in Three Mile

Nevertheless, their attempts to cool the reactor failed due to a malfunctioned cooling system that had a possible blockage in the water supply piping or a valve failure. The temperature and pressure inside the reactor began to rise uncontrollably in a runaway chemical reaction. Inside the reactor the pressure was still, increasing reaching 400 pounds per square inch and boosting the rupture disc. A good example of what was happening is to compare it to a tea kettle on the stove. As steam and heats up within the kettle, it looks for an opening to relieve pressure. When the steam finds that opening it begins to make the whistling sound which gets louder and louder as the water continues to heat up and the steam escapes the kettle more quickly.

The disaster took place on April 1986, and was caused by inexperienced staff. When the power plant had to undergo a special test, to make sure that sufficient amount of cooling water would be supplied to the reactor in case of a power outage. However, the test had been delayed, because the national grid required the power output more than the expected time. Hence, the test was postponed after midnight where the night shift had to come. The night shift had little experience about such a test as most of them were electrical engineers rather than nuclear. On the other hand, the night shift had to perform the test before the grid needed the power again, otherwise they would have all been fined or fired. Consequently, lead to an unnecessary pressure on the personnel, which in turn increased the probability of making incorrect

The causes of the accident was quite complex. In brief, it began with a closed bypass valve, which stopped the water flowing to the secondary main feed water pumps, once the steam generators could not receive water, they stopped and the reactor emergently shutdown. Control rods were inserted into the

It was a brisk morning at thirty degrees on March 28th 1979 when the unimaginable occurred. At four a.m. near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania a local nuclear power plant was working at its usual potential of one hundred percent when for “an unknown reason, the feed pump stopped operating” (What Went Wrong). This was a minor issue that the safety programmers had thought of before hand. Without the cooling pump the reactor started to heat up but when control rods were dropped to stop the fission process the temperature and pressure continued to climb.