Everything That Went Wrong on 3-Mile Island
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Date: 2022-12-29
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Comments and reviews: 20
Heart
I was a junior in Middletown High School that morning. Our chemistry teacher was not a fan of nuclear power and spent much of the semester teaching us about waste storage problems and how nuclear power plants work. He had a Geiger counter outside the window. We came in that room for class that morning and suddenly the clicks on the counter went crazy. He took out the phone book and called the Governors office and reported the radiation wafting over the school. They said, We know and stay indoors, wait for instructions. Many of the kids in the school had family who worked at the plant. Within minutes cars were pulling in the driveway with dogs and kids in the cars, parents came running in and immediately signed their kids out of school. Teachers even abandoned classrooms as the day went on. We left town not knowing if we would ever be able to return. For that contaminated water to be removed safely they would have had to dilute it to the tune of one drop per fifty thousand gallons. They did not do that. President Carter himself authorized the water to be trucked out HOT through out little town traveling the same route past the same homes and businesses on its route to wherever it was disposed of exposing countless people to radiation. Coincidentally, he was a big fan of nuclear energy and had himself performed an act of heroism while in the Navy, volunteering to do a dangerous task during a nuclear incident on a ship. I like the man, but that decision was unfortunate for the already traumatized people of Middletown because most of us knew this was happening. The people in the plant of course were not going to keep that secret. He is living a long life, but I do believe he is was successfully treated for a brain tumor ironically with a combination of radiation and immunotherapy.
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I was a junior in Middletown High School that morning. Our chemistry teacher was not a fan of nuclear power and spent much of the semester teaching us about waste storage problems and how nuclear power plants work. He had a Geiger counter outside the window. We came in that room for class that morning and suddenly the clicks on the counter went crazy. He took out the phone book and called the Governors office and reported the radiation wafting over the school. They said, We know and stay indoors, wait for instructions. Many of the kids in the school had family who worked at the plant. Within minutes cars were pulling in the driveway with dogs and kids in the cars, parents came running in and immediately signed their kids out of school. Teachers even abandoned classrooms as the day went on. We left town not knowing if we would ever be able to return. For that contaminated water to be removed safely they would have had to dilute it to the tune of one drop per fifty thousand gallons. They did not do that. President Carter himself authorized the water to be trucked out HOT through out little town traveling the same route past the same homes and businesses on its route to wherever it was disposed of exposing countless people to radiation. Coincidentally, he was a big fan of nuclear energy and had himself performed an act of heroism while in the Navy, volunteering to do a dangerous task during a nuclear incident on a ship. I like the man, but that decision was unfortunate for the already traumatized people of Middletown because most of us knew this was happening. The people in the plant of course were not going to keep that secret. He is living a long life, but I do believe he is was successfully treated for a brain tumor ironically with a combination of radiation and immunotherapy.
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rockubtzer
I remember that day! mid-morning at school we were assembled together. they played the news over the pa system. Our school was in the fallout zone, they were deciding if they should send us home or keep us because our school had a fallout shelter. They locked the doors and told the parents to stay away we were safe. There were rations in the shelter but they were old. Could they control us if there was an explosion or meltdown? Meanwhile, we children got to listen to panicked people calling the radio station talking about hydrogen bubbles, explosions, gas releases, and meltdowns. Pondering spending the rest of our lives in a school having only the clothes on our back & our gym clothes, while mom & dad slowly melted at home. Later my dad worked on the De-Con crew cleaning up the mess in the reactor at the plant. Yea, I remember!
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I remember that day! mid-morning at school we were assembled together. they played the news over the pa system. Our school was in the fallout zone, they were deciding if they should send us home or keep us because our school had a fallout shelter. They locked the doors and told the parents to stay away we were safe. There were rations in the shelter but they were old. Could they control us if there was an explosion or meltdown? Meanwhile, we children got to listen to panicked people calling the radio station talking about hydrogen bubbles, explosions, gas releases, and meltdowns. Pondering spending the rest of our lives in a school having only the clothes on our back & our gym clothes, while mom & dad slowly melted at home. Later my dad worked on the De-Con crew cleaning up the mess in the reactor at the plant. Yea, I remember!
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Preston
You would think if anything. They would make certain water was flowing threw the core at all costs. Why wouldn't they check the reactor vessel to physically look to see if they noticed anything obivious. Also why in God's name would your water dependant reactor not have a gage that showes how much water it had in it? Rather they had a indirect way of telling how much water was in the reactor by measuring steam pressure, obviously that has some major problems as if it was overheating and creating a ton of steam the gauage would tell you theirs lots or to much water in the reactor when in reality it's low and overheating. That simple cheep water gauage was all thry needed and this wouldn't have happened. Whoever designed the plant needs to be fired
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You would think if anything. They would make certain water was flowing threw the core at all costs. Why wouldn't they check the reactor vessel to physically look to see if they noticed anything obivious. Also why in God's name would your water dependant reactor not have a gage that showes how much water it had in it? Rather they had a indirect way of telling how much water was in the reactor by measuring steam pressure, obviously that has some major problems as if it was overheating and creating a ton of steam the gauage would tell you theirs lots or to much water in the reactor when in reality it's low and overheating. That simple cheep water gauage was all thry needed and this wouldn't have happened. Whoever designed the plant needs to be fired
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Imperial
So, no one suffered any health problems as a result of the accident? My Father, who used to live in Reading Pa, not all that far from Harrisburg, died of Prostate Cancer. I wouldn't be surprised if the TMI accident had something to do with it. I remember my Mother telling me she had read an article by a German Scientist that said Man should have never messed with the atom. Besides, God gave us a natural fusion reactor, it's called the Sun. Solar Power. Nuclear power plants, just one more way of poisoning this planet. I say get rid of all of them and develop more solar technologies. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the accident caused my father's cancer, but look how the radiation cloud from Chernobyl spread.
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So, no one suffered any health problems as a result of the accident? My Father, who used to live in Reading Pa, not all that far from Harrisburg, died of Prostate Cancer. I wouldn't be surprised if the TMI accident had something to do with it. I remember my Mother telling me she had read an article by a German Scientist that said Man should have never messed with the atom. Besides, God gave us a natural fusion reactor, it's called the Sun. Solar Power. Nuclear power plants, just one more way of poisoning this planet. I say get rid of all of them and develop more solar technologies. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying the accident caused my father's cancer, but look how the radiation cloud from Chernobyl spread.
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Cindy
Actually, although it is difficult to prove as cause, there has been an increase of cancer and death within the nearby radius of TMI. I personally know of people who have prematuraly died of cancer, with no genetic correlation. This story is missing several important points to help decide if you should be pro or con nuclear power. what about pulling fish with 2 heads out of the Susquehanna? What happened to the community and the lack of legal rights for the medical conditions, psychological implications, and economic issues (aka, decrease in property values, etc) that went unaddressed? There is much more to it than an incompetent structure and staff.
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Actually, although it is difficult to prove as cause, there has been an increase of cancer and death within the nearby radius of TMI. I personally know of people who have prematuraly died of cancer, with no genetic correlation. This story is missing several important points to help decide if you should be pro or con nuclear power. what about pulling fish with 2 heads out of the Susquehanna? What happened to the community and the lack of legal rights for the medical conditions, psychological implications, and economic issues (aka, decrease in property values, etc) that went unaddressed? There is much more to it than an incompetent structure and staff.
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Lethgar
I cant stand these videos that are crammed with stock images and stock videos. These little clips you use to pad out your content is annoying because they are just random people wearing a cheap costume and told to act like they're looking at something and talking about it.
Flat screen monitors in a 70s era nuclear power plant control room? This is the kind of garbage that will make me just click away from a video without hesitation.
You might as well just read the wikipedia article into a microphone and run a slide show of random found images.
. hang on a minute!
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I cant stand these videos that are crammed with stock images and stock videos. These little clips you use to pad out your content is annoying because they are just random people wearing a cheap costume and told to act like they're looking at something and talking about it.
Flat screen monitors in a 70s era nuclear power plant control room? This is the kind of garbage that will make me just click away from a video without hesitation.
You might as well just read the wikipedia article into a microphone and run a slide show of random found images.
. hang on a minute!
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Zackary
The words that you are using have specific meanings that you are using incorrectly. You have not done adequate research to have an opinion and the lackadaisical joking is distasteful. You're using fear to get views on a sensitive political topic and your conclusions are incorrect. This accident happened 30 years ago and the industry has an incredible understanding of what happened and why it happened. This accident was a function of human error and operating without trusting the indication they had access to.
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The words that you are using have specific meanings that you are using incorrectly. You have not done adequate research to have an opinion and the lackadaisical joking is distasteful. You're using fear to get views on a sensitive political topic and your conclusions are incorrect. This accident happened 30 years ago and the industry has an incredible understanding of what happened and why it happened. This accident was a function of human error and operating without trusting the indication they had access to.
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Kris
Navy nuke here - You mention the core 'going critical' - that doesn't mean what you think it means. There are 3 criticality levels, subcritical, critical and supercritical and all those do is define if you are generating less, the same or more neutrons from each fission that feed subsequent fissions. The usage there around 3 minutes in is factually incorrect. If the reactor was critical, it means the reaction is stabilized and using up the same amount of neutrons that are being generated.
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Navy nuke here - You mention the core 'going critical' - that doesn't mean what you think it means. There are 3 criticality levels, subcritical, critical and supercritical and all those do is define if you are generating less, the same or more neutrons from each fission that feed subsequent fissions. The usage there around 3 minutes in is factually incorrect. If the reactor was critical, it means the reaction is stabilized and using up the same amount of neutrons that are being generated.
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That
After watching a few of these confusing TMI failure videos, it sounds like human error(s) combined with lack of mechanical inspections.
No clear answers other than improper valve readings to be the culprit. Which led to a major build up of steam inside the reactor core and then some erroneous speculations of the core's water flow.
Ultimately. Creating excess heat within the core that caused unexpected chemical reactions, melting some of the fuel cells.
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After watching a few of these confusing TMI failure videos, it sounds like human error(s) combined with lack of mechanical inspections.
No clear answers other than improper valve readings to be the culprit. Which led to a major build up of steam inside the reactor core and then some erroneous speculations of the core's water flow.
Ultimately. Creating excess heat within the core that caused unexpected chemical reactions, melting some of the fuel cells.
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Jerry
Reduced costs, in labor & materials, result in increased profits. Was this project awarded to the lowest builder? Anyway reactor #2 was designed or built to fail, & did. The unit's controllers made many wrong decisions. Some were the result of false sensor readings. Maintenance staff made mistakes as well. Cause, because of errors in every area, not really accessible, so let's just put as a total failure. I have never been comfortable w/ nukes, of any kind.
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Reduced costs, in labor & materials, result in increased profits. Was this project awarded to the lowest builder? Anyway reactor #2 was designed or built to fail, & did. The unit's controllers made many wrong decisions. Some were the result of false sensor readings. Maintenance staff made mistakes as well. Cause, because of errors in every area, not really accessible, so let's just put as a total failure. I have never been comfortable w/ nukes, of any kind.
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Natedoc808to805
So if the proper procedures and protocols would have been followed, like we do now with tags and independent verification and double redundancy, then this would have been avoided, got it. The main F up was mispositioned valves, and an operator who didnt follow procedure couple with no way to visually confirm water level in the reactor- all so easily avoided. Nuclear still safest and most efficient with lowest carbon footprint per kWh
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So if the proper procedures and protocols would have been followed, like we do now with tags and independent verification and double redundancy, then this would have been avoided, got it. The main F up was mispositioned valves, and an operator who didnt follow procedure couple with no way to visually confirm water level in the reactor- all so easily avoided. Nuclear still safest and most efficient with lowest carbon footprint per kWh
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argtv100
Unit two completely melted down. tons of core material melted down into the river. Don't fall for these lies. Do your own research. Pictures from the top of the reactor containment are available for you to view. Normal distance from the top of containment structure to the top of the reactor vessel is two feet. Pictures show remains of reactor 26 feet below containment. Steel floor 5 feet thick, reactor fell into soil and river therefore.
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Unit two completely melted down. tons of core material melted down into the river. Don't fall for these lies. Do your own research. Pictures from the top of the reactor containment are available for you to view. Normal distance from the top of containment structure to the top of the reactor vessel is two feet. Pictures show remains of reactor 26 feet below containment. Steel floor 5 feet thick, reactor fell into soil and river therefore.
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Big
I live really close to TMI and heard a lot of stories growing up about older people who remember what happened there. I know a guy who was part of the engineering team who fixed things after the meltdown which I think is cool. The best part is the fish in the river downstream of the plant. Youll get all sorts of oddities such as two headed fish, half headed fish, fish with no fins and other weird things. I dont eat the fish from there.
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I live really close to TMI and heard a lot of stories growing up about older people who remember what happened there. I know a guy who was part of the engineering team who fixed things after the meltdown which I think is cool. The best part is the fish in the river downstream of the plant. Youll get all sorts of oddities such as two headed fish, half headed fish, fish with no fins and other weird things. I dont eat the fish from there.
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Marc
Hmmmm. Lets see.
We dont have enough NEGATIVE NEWS today!
Lets see if we cant drum up something spectacular (and TOTALLY NEGATIVE) about something than happened 20+ years ago and really doesnt matter anymore- but itll be SURE to generate some NEGATIVE Clicks - so YEAH! Ill create a video about it - thatll get me more clicks and generate $$$!
Nice plan - but not on MY Dime - a definite DISLIKE for this one!
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Hmmmm. Lets see.
We dont have enough NEGATIVE NEWS today!
Lets see if we cant drum up something spectacular (and TOTALLY NEGATIVE) about something than happened 20+ years ago and really doesnt matter anymore- but itll be SURE to generate some NEGATIVE Clicks - so YEAH! Ill create a video about it - thatll get me more clicks and generate $$$!
Nice plan - but not on MY Dime - a definite DISLIKE for this one!
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xnavyro
The hilarity of the commendation is the only thing that makes this video worth watching! Once a reactor's control rods are inserted, the reactor cannot go critical! The problem was decay beat & it's removal which caused the overheating & a stuck Pressurized Power valve that the operators had no indication of the valve position. These narrators need to do more homework before putting out this spew!
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The hilarity of the commendation is the only thing that makes this video worth watching! Once a reactor's control rods are inserted, the reactor cannot go critical! The problem was decay beat & it's removal which caused the overheating & a stuck Pressurized Power valve that the operators had no indication of the valve position. These narrators need to do more homework before putting out this spew!
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Kaleb
So firstly, it sounds like this would have been a Chernobyl if the reactor had a more Soviet design, but due to basic common sense the core itself was contained. Secondly, it sounds like, as with planes, the biggest risk is human error. But a proper IT system can help you monitor things a lot better, so a plant with modern technology (properly applied) should be safer than ever before.
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So firstly, it sounds like this would have been a Chernobyl if the reactor had a more Soviet design, but due to basic common sense the core itself was contained. Secondly, it sounds like, as with planes, the biggest risk is human error. But a proper IT system can help you monitor things a lot better, so a plant with modern technology (properly applied) should be safer than ever before.
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Pickr
There are so many mistakes in this video it would take another video twice as long to point them all out and tell the real story. beginning with May 28 when it was actually March 28. I quit watching at 3: 30. Talk about Homer Simpson - he's apparently producing history videos now. He should ask Lisa to do his fact checking.
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There are so many mistakes in this video it would take another video twice as long to point them all out and tell the real story. beginning with May 28 when it was actually March 28. I quit watching at 3: 30. Talk about Homer Simpson - he's apparently producing history videos now. He should ask Lisa to do his fact checking.
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Z80Fan
I had to stop the video at 0: 11; that picture is NOT the Fukushima NPP, not matter how much the sensationalist media wants you to believe: It's a fire in an oil refinery plant. If they couldn't even get a picture right, I don't have any hope that the rest of this video is any good (and, judging by the comments, it is not.
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I had to stop the video at 0: 11; that picture is NOT the Fukushima NPP, not matter how much the sensationalist media wants you to believe: It's a fire in an oil refinery plant. If they couldn't even get a picture right, I don't have any hope that the rest of this video is any good (and, judging by the comments, it is not.
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Lethgar
The image shown at the 0: 11 second mark is not Fukushima although it is often confused with Fukushima. It is a picture of an oil refinery fire in Chiba city, Chiba prefecture Japan on the same day as the Fukushima disaster and caused by the same Earthquake but it IS NOT a nuclear power plant you see in this picture
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The image shown at the 0: 11 second mark is not Fukushima although it is often confused with Fukushima. It is a picture of an oil refinery fire in Chiba city, Chiba prefecture Japan on the same day as the Fukushima disaster and caused by the same Earthquake but it IS NOT a nuclear power plant you see in this picture
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Jack
Big company's in such a hurry to make money training suffered. You would think if you closed a valve you would write it down so then you can reverse the order (ID10T) error. When the nuclear plant hired ManPower temporary workers to clean all the water it was shocking to find out no one was trained for the job.
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Big company's in such a hurry to make money training suffered. You would think if you closed a valve you would write it down so then you can reverse the order (ID10T) error. When the nuclear plant hired ManPower temporary workers to clean all the water it was shocking to find out no one was trained for the job.
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