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Construction Site
- Harrisburg,PA
- Unit 1 began construction 1968, opened 1974
- Unit 2 began construction 1969, opened 1978
- Each unit could generate over 800 megawatts of power
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Accident
- Worst commercial nuclear power plant accident
- Unit 2 meltdown
- Combination of equipment malfunctions, design related problems, worker errors
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March 28, 7am
- Workers struggle to operate system
- Reactor core continues to overheat
- Radioactive gasses released into atmosphere
- 2.5 Megacuries, noble gas xenon 133
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March 28, 4am
- Disaster strikes!
- Mechanical/electrical failure
- Steam generators lose function
- Cooling pumps fail to circulate water
- Reactor core overheats/meltdown, Unit 2
- Alarms indicate problem
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March 29
- Still trying to attempt to cool and stabilize the reactor
- Community is told to stay indoors
- NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) starts investigation and press conference
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March 30
- Women and children encouraged to leave town
- Radioactive waste was detected as far as 100km away
- no injuries, sicknesses, deaths detected
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August 1979
- Clean up begins
- Took nearly 12 years
- Fuel and other waste shipped to Hanford
- Reactive core materials/structure/debris shipped to NRC's Idaho National Lab for study
- 1 billion dollars
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Impact
- Careful analysis of the accident led to permanent changes in how the NRC regulates its licenses
- TMI "Action Plan"
- Upgrades to equipment: piping systems, fire protection, feedwater systems, personnel training,...
- Enhancing emergency preparedness, implimentling drills,...
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Health Effects
- 2 million people were living near the site estimated to have received about 1 millirem above the usual background dose
- (Chest Xray about 6 millirem)
- Environmental samples taken from air, water, mile, vegetation, soil, foodstuff
- Found negligible effects on the physical health of individuals and environment
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Current Status
- Permanently shut down
- 99 percent of its fuel has been removed
- Reactor coolant system has been drained
- Radioactive water has been decontaminated and evaporated
- Re-opens in 2028 to power Microsoft data centers
- Re-named Crane Clean Energy Center