Just so it’s clear. The reactor accident at Three Mile Island was caused by the plant operators who incorrectly thought that their instruments were malfunctioning. The plant was performing as designed, and shutting down when the operators overrode the installed safety systems and caused the accident which although severe, was never near the severity of the incident at Chernobyl. In general, nearly all the people in the area received less extra radiation from the resulting release than they would have received from having two normal chest x-rays. Sensationalism sells papers and ad space on the nightly news though, so this incident was played out as if it were truly a “China Syndrome” type accident.
Just so it’s clear. The reactor accident at Three Mile Island was caused by the plant operators who incorrectly thought that their instruments were malfunctioning. The plant was performing as designed, and shutting down when the operators overrode the installed safety systems and caused the accident which although severe, was never near the severity of the incident at Chernobyl. In general, nearly all the people in the area received less extra radiation from the resulting release than they would have received from having two normal chest x-rays. Sensationalism sells papers and ad space on the nightly news though, so this incident was played out as if it were truly a “China Syndrome” type accident.