The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania has finally ceased operations. Reactor 1, which was ramped up in 1974, was shut down on Friday, as operator Exelon announced. The company had previously tried in vain to obtain financial assistance from the state for its continued operation.
The power plant was hit 40 years ago by the worst reactor accident in the US. In the reactor block 2 of the nuclear power plant there was a partial meltdown on March 28, 1979. The trigger was a failed pump in the cooling circuit and an open valve. Every minute unnoticed about one ton of cooling water escaped, overheating the system. Radioactive water vapor penetrated outward through the exhaust duct, the fuel rods began to melt.
There were no casualties, but around 140,000 people had to leave their homes temporarily. How high the radiation exposure was is still unclear. However, studies indicate that the cancer rate in the region has increased to this day.
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Three Mile Island: End of a Disaster ReactorIt took six years for the unaffected reactor 1 to go back online. He still had an operating license until 2034, but was a loss business for Exelon. Due to falling oil prices and the fracking boom, the system has not spent any money for years. Other nuclear power plants in the US are facing the same problem, putting the entire sustainability of the industry in question. Plans for new nuclear power plants have already been canceled.
The reactors are located on an island in the Susquehanna River, ten kilometers southeast of Harrisburg. The decommissioning and disposal of radioactive waste could take six decades and cost more than a billion dollars, Exelon estimates. The destroyed reactor 2 is sealed, its cooling towers are still standing. Under a coat of concrete is highly radioactive material.
