Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station

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Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station
The Three Mile Island NPP on Three Mile Island, circa 1979
The Three Mile Island NPP on Three Mile Island, circa 1979
Data
Location Londonderry Township, PA
Coordinates 40°09′14″N 76°43′29″W / 40.153889°N 76.724722°W / 40.153889; -76.724722Coordinates: 40°09′14″N 76°43′29″W / 40.153889°N 76.724722°W / 40.153889; -76.724722
Operator Exelon Nuclear
Built 1968–1970
Start of commercial operation September 2, 1974
Reactors
Reactor supplier Babcock & Wilcox
Reactor type PWR
Power
Capacity 802 MW
Total power generation in 2007 6,645 GW·h
Average annual generation (last 5 yrs) 6,819 GW·h
Status Operating
Other details
Architect Unit 1: Gilbert Associates
Unit 2: Burns & Roe
Constructors United Engineers and Constructors
License expires April 19, 2034
NRC region 1
Website
www.threemileislandinfo.com

Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station (TMI) is a civilian nuclear power plant located on Three Mile Island in the Susquehanna River, in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County, south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States.[1] It has two separate generators, known as TMI-1 and TMI-2. The plant is best known for having been the site of the worst civilian nuclear accident in United States history on March 29, 1979, when TMI-2 suffered a partial meltdown. According to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the accident resulted in no deaths or injuries to plant workers or members of nearby communities,[2] a contention that is disputed by some academics, journalists and local residents[who?]. The reactor core of TMI-2 has since been removed from the site, but the site has not been decommissioned yet.[3]

Three Mile Island is so named because it is located three miles downriver from Middletown, Pennsylvania. The plant was originally built by General Public Utilities Corporation, later renamed GPU Incorporated.[4] The plant was operated by Metropolitan Edison Company (Met-Ed), a subsidiary of the GPU Energy division. During 2001 GPU Inc. merged with FirstEnergy Corporation, through the selling of its outstanding common stock.[5]

Contents

[edit] Three Mile Island Unit 1

The Three Mile Island Unit 1 is a pressurized water reactor designed by Babcock and Wilcox (B&W) with a net generating capacity of 802 MWe. The initial construction cost was US$400 million. Unit 1 first came online on April 19, 1974, and began commercial operations on September 2, 1974.[6] TMI-1 is licensed to operate for 40 years from its first run, and in 2009, was extended 20 years, which means it may operate until April 19, 2034.[7][8] When TMI-2 suffered its accident in 1979, TMI-1 was offline for refueling. It was brought back online in October 1985, after public opposition, several federal court injunctions, and some technical and regulatory complications.[9]

On November 21, 2009, a radiation leak occurred inside the containment building of TMI-1 while workers were cutting pipes. Exelon Corporation stated to the public that "A monitor at the temporary opening cut into the containment building wall to allow the new steam generators to be moved inside showed a slight increase in a reading and then returned to normal. Approximately 20 employees were treated for mild radiation exposure."[10] As of November 22, 2009 (2009 -11-22), it is believed that no radiation escaped the containment building and the public is not in any danger. The plant is currently shut down and the incident is under investigation.[11]

[edit] Three Mile Island Unit 2

The Three Mile Island Unit 2 was also a pressurized water reactor constructed by B&W, similar to Unit 1. The only difference was that TMI-2 was slightly larger with a net generating capacity of 906 MWe, compared to TMI-1, which delivers 802 MWe. Unit 2 received its operating license on February 8, 1978, and began commercial operation on December 30, 1978.[12]

[edit] Accident

Main article: Three Mile Island accident

On March 29, 1979, there was a cooling system malfunction that caused a partial melt-down of the reactor core. This loss of coolant accident resulted in the release of a significant amount of radioactivity, estimated at 43,000 curies (1.59 PBq) of radioactive krypton gas, but less than 20 curies (740 GBq) of the especially hazardous iodine-131, into the surrounding environment.[2]

The nuclear power industry claims that there were no deaths, injuries or adverse health effects from the accident,[13] but a peer-reviewed study by Steven Wing of the University of North Carolina found that lung cancer and leukemia rates were 2 to 10 times higher downwind of TMI than upwind, and also showed that there was plant and animal chromosomal damage, but without considering the effects of stress or improved screening.[14] In addition, the Radiation and Public Health Project reported a spike in infant mortality in the downwind communities two years after the accident.[15][16]

The incident was widely publicized nationally and internationally, and had far-reaching effects on public opinion, particularly in the United States. The China Syndrome, a movie about a nuclear meltdown, which was released just 12 days before the disaster, became a blockbuster hit.[17]

[edit] Post-accident

Following the accident, the plant was transferred under the ownership and operation of a new subsidiary company, GPU Nuclear (GPUN), in a bid to disassociate itself from itself.[18] GPUN continued to operate TMI-1 until its 1999 sale to AmerGen Energy Corporation, a joint venture of Philadelphia Electric Company Energy, Inc. (PECO Energy) and British Energy Group Plc.[19]

Exelon Corporation was created in October 2000 by the merger of PECO Energy Company and Unicom, of Philadelphia and Chicago respectively.[20] Unicom owned Commonwealth Edison. The PECO share in AmerGen was acquired by Exelon during late 2000. Exelon acquired British Energy's share in AmerGen in 2003,[21] and transferred the plant under the direct ownership and operation of its Exelon Nuclear business unit.[22][23]


[edit] References in popular culture

  • Dan Fogelberg refers to TMI in his song "Face the Fire" with "I hear the thunder three mile away, the island's leaking into the bay...". He was particularly outspoken about his commitment to the environment and to finding alternatives to nuclear power, singing "kill the fire and turn to the sun".
  • In the opening chapter of the manga Saint Seiya Episode G, the Three Mile Island Accident is shown to be caused by a renegade apprentice who resented having been denied promotion to Saint level (and the consequent right to don a Saint Cloth). The situation is resolved by Gold Saint Leo Aiolia.
  • In The Simpsons[which?], Homer Simpson is narrowly able to avert a nuclear meltdown to which Montgomery Burns comments he turned a "possible Chernobyl into a mere Three Mile Island."
  • In Viva La Bam Bam Margera and his crew are abandoned on an small island next to Three Mile Island.
  • Adam Bomb, the WWE professional wrestler, was billed as hailing from Three Mile Island.
  • In the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the island is the location of a secret holding facility for mutants undergoing experimentation, either in addition to or under the guise of a nuclear power plant (it is unclear in the film). During a battle among Wolverine, Sabertooth, and Deadpool, one of the cooling towers is destroyed. There is some discussion[by whom?] whether this was an allusion to the accident or not, but it is unclear in the film if the meltdown is a result of the battle.
  • In Family Guy, Quagmire belonged to an improv comedy group called "Three Smile Island."

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Three Mile Island". AmerGen — Exelon Corporation. http://www.threemileislandinfo.com. Retrieved 2008-12-15. 
  2. ^ a b "Fact Sheet on the Three Mile Island Accident". US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html. Retrieved 2008-12-18. 
  3. ^ "Accident at Three Mile Island". Policy Almanac. http://www.policyalmanac.org/environment/archive/three_mile_island.shtml. Retrieved 2008-12-18. 
  4. ^ "GPU, Inc. -- Company History". http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/GPU-Inc-Company-History.html. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 
  5. ^ "FirstEnergy — Company history". http://www.firstenergycorp.com/corporate/Corporate_Profile/Company_History.html. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 
  6. ^ "Power Generation: Three Mile Island Unit 1". Amerigen — Exelon Corporation. http://www.exeloncorp.com/ourcompanies/powergen/nuclear/three_mile_island_unit_-_1.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-15. 
  7. ^ "Three Mile Island 1 - Pressurized Water Reactor". Nuclear Regulatory Commission. http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/reactor/tmi1.html. Retrieved 2008-12-15. 
  8. ^ "NRC renews Exelon Pa. Three Mile Isl reactor license". Thomson Reuters. 2009-10-22. http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN223175220091022. Retrieved 2009-10-23. 
  9. ^ Stephanie Cooke (2009). In Mortal Hands: A Cautionary History of the Nuclear Age, Black Inc., p. 299.
  10. ^ http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/22/pennsylvania.three.mile.island/index.html
  11. ^ "Radiation leak at Three Mile Island". ABC News — WPVI Philadelphia. http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=7131935. Retrieved 2009-11-22. 
  12. ^ "Three Mile Island — Unit 2". Nuclear Regulatory Commission. http://www.nrc.gov/info-finder/decommissioning/power-reactor/three-mile-island-unit-2.html. Retrieved 2008-12-15. 
  13. ^ "Three Mile Island: 1979". World Nuclear. http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf36.html. Retrieved 2008-12-18. 
  14. ^ David Williamson (1997-02-24). "Study suggests Three Mile Island radiation may have injured people living near reactor". UNC-CH News Services. http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb97/wing.html. Retrieved 2008-12-29. 
  15. ^ David Teather (2004-04-13). "US nuclear industry powers back into life". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2004/apr/13/nuclearindustry.usnews. Retrieved 2008-12-29. 
  16. ^ Andy Newman (2003-11-03). "In Baby Teeth, a Test of Fallout; A Long-Shot Search for Nuclear Peril in Molars and Cuspids". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/11/nyregion/baby-teeth-test-fallout-long-shot-search-for-nuclear-peril-molars-cuspids.html?sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2009-03-31. 
  17. ^ "FAQ for the China Syndrome". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078966/faq#.2.1.3. Retrieved 2008-12-29. 
  18. ^ "A Corporate History of Three Mile Island". http://www.tmia.com/corp.historyTMI. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 
  19. ^ "AmerGen Energy Company, LLC". http://www.hoovers.com/amergen-energy/--ID__57636--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 
  20. ^ "Exelon — Merger Filing". http://www.exeloncorp.com/ourcompanies/peco/pecobiz/energy_rates/filing_information/merger_filing.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 
  21. ^ "A Corporate History of Three Mile Island — Three Mile Island Alert". http://www.tmia.com/corp.historyTMI. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 
  22. ^ "Exelon — Three Mile Island Unit - 1". http://www.exeloncorp.com/ourcompanies/powergen/nuclear/three_mile_island_unit_-_1.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 
  23. ^ "Three Mile Island: About TMI — About Us". http://www.threemileislandinfo.com/about/index.aspx. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 

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