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Netflix's latest documentary, Meltdown: Three Mile Island, is here to shed some light on the most significant nuclear mishap in the United States in 1979, at the atomic plant of Three Mile Island. The accident, albeit not proven to be fatal, jeopardized the safety of people in and around Pennsylvania for years to come.
The four-part documentary series traces the incidents starting from the announcement of an emergency to a partial resolution of the crisis, weaving in the rampant corruption in the nuclear industry, which compromises the lives of millions. In light of the documentary, it is essential to shed some insight into the current predicament of the TMI nuclear power plant.
What happened in the Three Mile Island core meltdown?
In the early hours of March 28, 1979, the second reactor of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant had a cooling malfunction which caused a part of the core to melt, releasing some radioactive substances into the atmosphere. Although the situation was played off as a minor accident, it was, in fact, a significant problem that would only get worse.
Unable to diagnose the problem, the experts handling the situation made it worse by shutting off the coolant valve, which caused the reactor to overheat further and melt. Public fear started rising due to misleading information, but the feared contamination was contained because the reactor vessel maintained its integrity and contained the damaged fuel.
But the clean-up of the reactor, which took 12 years, proved to be expensive and challenging. Plant surfaces had to be decontaminated and the coolant water processed. One hundred tons of damaged uranium fuel needed to be removed from the reactor vessel, and it was only in October 1985, after nearly six years of planning, the workers equipped with long-handled tools began lifting the fuel. The fuel was then shipped for long-term storage at the Idaho National Laboratory, from where it was then carefully disposed of.
What happened to the plant after the accident?
When the TMI-2 accident occurred, TMI-1 was shut down given the dire situation. Despite pleas from the management to reopen the TMI-1, which according to them, was in perfect shape, the general public vehemently opposed it. It was only years later, in 1985, that the plant was modified and training and operating procedures were revamped, and it was finally opened with the promise it would be handled responsibly. Over the years, TMI-1 changed hands, and eventually, in September 2019, it was shut down.
Netflix's Meltdown: Three Mile Island documents the 1979 nuclear accident and lays bare the corrupt practices of the management of the nuclear industry, which was geared towards profit-making, and how it direly affected the citizens of Pennsylvania, who are paying the price for the incident with life-threatening illnesses. Catch the docu-series now to know more about the incident.
