What was the date of the Three Mile Island accident?
Q: What was the date of the Three Mile Island accident?
A: The Three Mile Island accident occurred on March 28th, 1979.
Q: Where did the Three Mile Island accident take place?
A: The Three Mile Island accident took place at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania.
Q: How large was Unit 2's pressurized water reactor?
A: Unit 2's pressurized water reactor had a capacity of 900 MWe.
Q: What caused the crisis at the TMI plant?
A: The crisis at the TMI plant was caused by several minor equipment failures that were drastically compounded by operator errors.
Q: What was the greatest source of concern during the TMI crisis?
A: During the TMI crisis, there was a great concern about a hydrogen bubble that had formed in the top of the pressure vessel which held the core. It was feared that this bubble could become flammable or explosive and potentially rupture the pressure vessel and force damaged reactor core into containment building.
Q: Was there any breach of containment as a result of this incident? A: In spite of a partial meltdown occurring, there was no breach of containment structure as a result of this incident. Only "tiny amounts" of volatile radiation escaped to atmosphere.
Q: How long did it take to clean up after this incident and how much did it cost? A: It took 11 years to clean up after this incident and it cost approximately US$1 billion.
