Three Mile Island

We've all heard about the "nuclear disaster" that occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. But was it a "disaster"?

On March 28, 1979, a pressure relief valve became stuck open at the Three Mile Island (TMI) Unit-2 reactor releasing radiation into the surrounding area.

According to a report by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the average dose of radiation received by the two million people in the surrounding area was 0.0014 rems. (A rem is a measurement unit for absorbed radiation dose in man. The average member of the U.S. population receives about 0.36 rems of radiation annually from naturally occurring radiation, medical uses of radiation and consumer products). The highest estimated individual exposure resulting from the release was 0.075 rems.

A number of plaintiffs claimed that they developed cancer as a result of exposure to the radiation released during the incident. In fact, the plaintiffs contended that they were exposed to 100 rems of radiation, not the measly 0.0014 rems estimated by the NRC.

In ruling against the plaintiffs, the court ruled that although the plaintiffs were clearly exposed to radiation released by the TMI incident, the plaintiffs failed to present any evidence that they were exposed to enough radiation to cause their cancers.

Although the plaintiffs claimed over 100 rems of exposure (a level experienced by some of the survivors of the atomic bomb explosion at Hiroshima), the court noted that, to win, they would only have to present evidence of exposure to 10 rems of radiation. Still, the plaintiffs failed to produce evidence of even this exposure level.

As the court stated:

The parties... have had nearly two decades to muster evidence in support of their respective cases... The paucity of proof alleged in support of the Plaintiffs' case is manifest. The court searched for any and all evidence which construed in a light most favorable to Plaintiffs' case creates a genuine issue of material fact warranting submission of the claims to a jury. This effort has been in vain.

As it turns out, the TMI incident was not a disaster for the surrounding population. But it was for the rest of us. TMI doomed the nuclear power industry and ended (for the foreseeable future) the prospect of cheap and clean electric power in this country.

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Copyright © 1996 Steven J. Milloy. All rights reserved. Site developed and hosted by WestLake Solutions, Inc.