|
|
| Fig. 1: Jimmy Carter at the Three Mile Island devastation site to inform the public. (Courtesy of NARA. Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
In the past few decades, there has been a global motion to transition into the use of alternative energies instead of fossil fuels. A prominent and efficient energy source has come from nuclear energy. While nuclear energy provides around 32%, or 191 million tons of oil equivalent (TOE), of the United States' energy consumption today, nuclear power has serious health risks due to the possibility of nuclear plant malfunctions. [1]
On March 28th, 1979 in Middletown, Pennsylvania, one of the largest commercial American nuclear disasters occurred at around 4 in the morning. A failure in the cooling system for the Three Mile Island's Unit 2 (TMI-2) reactor caused a partial plant meltdown. More specifically, a stuck valve and inadequate protocol, caused and prevented steam generators from removing heat and later caused nuclear reactant to boil inside the core. [2] This catastrophe resulted in the relocation of over 50,000 residents and received intense backlash from the American people due to the concern of safety for environmental and human health. [3]
 |
| Fig. 2: Cleanup for the disaster was a huge effort. (Source: Wikimedia Commons) |
Following the partial meltdown of TMI-2, President Jimmy Carter ordered a 6-month investigation by the U.S Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to appease public outcry and their fear of nuclear energy (see Fig. 1). [2] It was determined that the accident was due to a combination of personnel error, design deficiencies and component failures at the site. [3] Unfortunately for Carter, this created more public fear and distrust by the American people of the government and the NRC. Consequently, sweeping changes such as strengthening plant integrity and enhancing training and staffing requirements, were mandated. [3]
A few years after the incident, a spike in cancer and stress-related behaviors were reported from the years 1979 to 1982. While none could be directly correlated to the nuclear incident, the rate of alcoholism, damage to wildlife, and health-related risks should not go unnoticed. Those affected by the tragedy were altered the rest of their life and never fully compensated for what happened. [4]
Today, the TMI-2 reactor is permanently shut down and, if not, almost all of its nuclear fuel has been disposed. [2] While nuclear power plant protocols have changed drastically for the better since this accident, over $1 billion USD contributed to the cleanup of the power plant (see Fig. 2). [3] In the end, nuclear energy will always be a prominent energy source for modern society. Nuclear power is an alternative source that is highly efficient to keep up with growing populations and growing demand for energy. As long as workers are skillfully trained and proper safety procedure is carried out, it should be a method of power that all countries should invest in.
© Alex Liang. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] "BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2018," British Petroleum, June 2018.
[2] "Three Mile Island Accident," U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, June 2018.
[3] C. Hopkins, "Three Mile Island," Physics 241, Stanford University, Winter 2015.
[4] M. Hatch et al., "Cancer Rates after the Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident and Proximity of Residence to the Plant," Am. J. Public Health 81, 719 (1991).
