Some Lessons from a Typical Accident

Abstract

On March 28, 1979 the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania suffered an accident which was serious in terms of damage to the plant, but which had a negligible impact on public health. It became a media event because of the existence in the US (and elsewhere) of strong minority opposition to nuclear power. Opponents had established the ingredients for sensationalism by building up exaggerated images of radiation hazards.

Nuclear plant designers can gain valuable lessons from the accident itself if they can separate the real technical issue from those generated by the peculiar licensing climate in the United States. This paper discusses the technical issues and outlines Ontario Hydro's strategy for incorporating TMI lessons into their nuclear program.