Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station

Emergency zones and nearby population

The NRC defines two emergency planning zones around nuclear power plants: a plume exposure pathway zone with a radius of 10 mi, concerned primarily with exposure to, and inhalation of, airborne radioactive contamination, and an ingestion pathway zone of about 50 mi, concerned primarily with ingestion of food and liquid contaminated by radioactivity.

The 2010 U.S. population within 10 mi of Three Mile Island was 211,261, an increase of 10.9 percent in a decade, according to an analysis of U.S. Census data. The 2010 U.S. population within 50 mi was 2,803,322, an increase of 10.3 percent since 2000. Cities within 50 miles include Harrisburg (12 miles to city center), York (13 miles to city center), and Lancaster (24 miles to city center).

Electricity production

During its last full year of operation in 2018, Three Mile Island generated 7,355 GWh of electricity. In that same year, electricity from nuclear power produced approximately 39% of the total electricity generated in Pennsylvania (83.5 TWh nuclear of 215 TWh total), with Three Mile Island Generating Station contributing approximately 4% to the statewide total generation. In 2021 electrical generating facilities in the state of Pennsylvania generated approximately 241 TWh of total electricity.

Three Mile Island Unit 1

The Three Mile Island Unit 1 is a pressurized water reactor designed by Babcock & Wilcox with a net generating capacity of 819 MWe. The initial construction cost for TMI-1 was US$400 million, equal to $ billion in 2018 dollars. Unit 1 first came online on April 19, 1974, and began commercial operations on September 2, 1974. TMI-1 was licensed to operate for 40 years from its first run, and in 2009, its license was extended by 20 years, which means it could have operated until April 19, 2034.

TMI-1 had a closed-cycle cooling system for its main condenser using two natural draft cooling towers. Makeup water was drawn from the river to replace the water lost via evaporation in the cooling towers. Once-through the cooling towers, river water was used in the service water system, cooling auxiliary components and removing decay heat when the reactor was shut down. On February 17, 1979, TMI-1 went offline for refueling. It was brought back online on October 9, 1985, after public opposition, several federal court injunctions, and some technical and regulatory complications – more than six years after it initially went offline.[[File:Tmi1.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.2|September 2019 photo of Three Mile Island and Goldsboro, Pennsylvania]]

Unit 1 was scheduled to be shut down by September 2019 after Exelon announced they did not receive any commitments for subsidies from the state, rendering Exelon financially unable to continue operating the reactor. TMI-1 was shut down on September 20, 2019, but may be brought back. The CEO of Constellation Energy, the owner of Unit 1, says the reactor is in "excellent shape," and estimated that it would go online within three years of committing to a restart. Constellation is conducting tests for a potential decision to reopen.

Incidents

In February 1993, a man drove his car past a checkpoint at the TMI nuclear plant, then broke through an entry gate. He eventually crashed the car through a secure door and entered the Unit 1 turbine building. The intruder, who had a history of mental illness, hid in the turbine building and was apprehended after four hours.

During and following the September 11, 2001 attacks, there was a concern that United Airlines Flight 93 was headed towards Three Mile Island. On that day, the NRC placed all of the nation's nuclear power plants into the highest level of security. United Flight 93 crashed into a field (present-day Flight 93 National Memorial) about 135 miles (217 km) west of Three Mile Island in Stonycreek Township, just outside Shanksville, Pennsylvania, with its actual target believed to have been Washington, D.C.

On November 21, 2009, a release of radioactivity occurred inside the containment building of TMI-1 while workers were cutting pipes. Exelon Corporation stated to the public that "A monitor at the temporary opening cut into the containment building wall to allow the new steam generators to be moved inside showed a slight increase in a reading and then returned to normal. Approximately 20 employees were treated for mild radiation exposure." , it was believed that no radiation escaped the containment building and the public was not in any danger. The inside airborne contamination was caused by a change in air pressure inside the containment building that dislodged small irradiated particles in the reactor piping system. Some of the particles became airborne inside the building and were detected by an array of monitors in place to detect such material. The air pressure change occurred when inside building ventilation fans were started to support outage activities. The site modified the ventilation system to prevent future air pressure changes. Work continued on the project the following day. On January 24, 2010, TMI-1 was brought back online.

Material handling accident

On September 10, 2021, a contractor from Alabama was fatally injured while unloading equipment from a truck. Fire and emergency medical personnel from Londonderry Township were dispatched and declared the contractor dead on arrival. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission said the injury was work-related, and the contractor was outside the radiological controlled area.

Three Mile Island Unit 2

Accident

Main article: Three Mile Island accident

On March 28, 1979, a cooling system malfunction caused a partial meltdown of the reactor core. This loss-of-coolant accident resulted in the release of an estimated 43,000 curies (1.59 PBq) of radioactive krypton-85 gas (with an approximate half-life of 11 years), and less than 20 curies (740 GBq) of the especially hazardous iodine-131 (with a half-life of around 8 days), into the surrounding environment.

Nearly 2 million people were exposed to radiation from the accident. A review by the World Nuclear Association concluded that no deaths, injuries or adverse health effects resulted from the accident, and a report by Columbia University epidemiologist Maureen Hatch confirmed this finding. Because of the health concerns, the Pennsylvania Department of Health kept a registry of more than 30,000 people that lived within 5 miles of TMI at the time of the accident. The registry was kept for nearly 20 years until 1997, when no evidence was found of unusual health effects. Further epidemiology studies have not shown any increase in cancer as a result of the accident. However, almost $25 million was paid in insurance settlements to people who then agreed not to discuss their injuries in ongoing litigation.

Unit 2 has not been operational since the accident occurred.

The New York Times reported on August 14, 1993, 14 years after the accident, that the cleanup had finished. According to the United States NRC, 2.3 million gallons of waste water had been removed.

The incident was widely publicized internationally, and had far-reaching effects on public opinion, particularly in the United States. The China Syndrome, a movie about a nuclear disaster, which was released 12 days before the incident and received a glowing reception from the movie-going public, became a blockbuster hit.

Unit 2 Generator

On January 22, 2010, officials at the NRC announced the electrical generator from the damaged Unit 2 reactor at TMI will be used at Shearon Harris Nuclear Plant in New Hill, North Carolina. The generator was transported in two parts, weighing a combined 670 tons. It was refurbished and installed during a refueling outage at Shearon Harris NPP in November 2010.

Post-accident

Exelon Corporation was created in October 2000 by the merger of PECO Energy Company and Unicom, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Chicago, Illinois respectively. Unicom owned Commonwealth Edison. The PECO share in AmerGen was acquired by Exelon during late 2000. Exelon acquired British Energy's share in AmerGen in 2003, and transferred Unit 1 under the direct ownership and operation of its Exelon Nuclear business unit. According to Exelon Corporation, "many people are surprised when they learn that Three Mile Island is still making electricity, enough to power 800,000 households" from its undamaged and fully functional reactor unit 1. Exelon viewed the plant's economics of $44/MWh as challenging due to the low price of natural gas at $25/MWh. As of 2016, the average price of electricity in the area was $39/MWh.

Closure

On June 20, 2017, Exelon Generation, the owners of Three Mile Island's Unit 1, sent to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission a formal notice of its intention to shut down the plant on September 30, 2019, unless the Pennsylvania legislature rescued the nuclear industry, which was struggling to compete as newfound natural gas resources drove down electricity prices. Exelon Generation's Senior Vice President Bryan Hanson noted that once Three Mile Island was closed, it could never be reopened for use again. Hanson explicitly stated the reason for the shutdown is because of the unprofitability of Unit 1. Unit 1 has lost the company over $300 million over the last half-decade despite it being one of Exelon's best-performing power plants.

About 70 state legislators signed the industry-inspired Nuclear Caucus but made no financial commitments.

In April 2019, Exelon stated it would cost $1.2 billion over nearly 60 years to completely decommission Unit 1. Unit 1 closed on September 20, 2019.

In 2022, Unit 1 was transferred to Constellation Energy following separation from Exelon. Unit 2 was also transferred to TriArtisan ES Partners, LLC – following their acquisition of EnergySolutions.

Decommissioning

In 2023, TMI-2 Solutions begun active cleanup of the reactor site. A temporary building is planned to contain radioactive materials before being shipped to a disposal area. Remotely operated equipment is planned to take a large part in decommissioning due to radioactivity concerns. Originally TMI-2 Solutions planned to finish decommissioning in 2037, but that is projected to be completed by 2052.

Following the TMI-2 accident in 1979, approximately 99% of the fuel and damaged core debris was removed from the reactor vessel and associated systems and shipped to the Idaho National Laboratory near Idaho Falls, Idaho. Since 1993, when the initial cleanup of the plant was completed, TMI-2 has been in a condition known as Post Defueling Monitored Storage (PDMS) and is under constant monitoring to ensure the plant's safety and stability. The remaining 1% of residual fuel at the site is planned to be removed by 2029.

The cost of decommissioning a closed nuclear reactor and related structures at Three Mile Island is estimated at $918 million.

Reopening and Microsoft partnership

On September 20, 2024, citing a resurgence in the need for nuclear generated carbon free electricity, Constellation Energy announced plans to reopen Three Mile Island Unit 1 in 2028. It will be renamed the Christopher M. Crane Clean Energy Center, in honor of former Exelon Corporation CEO Chris Crane. Crane, who started his career in nuclear energy as a Reactor Operator with ComEd, retired from Exelon in December 2022 and died on April 13, 2024.

As part of this plan, Microsoft entered into a 20-year agreement to purchase power from the facility once it resumes operation, aiming to support the energy demands of its expanding AI data centers. Constellation Energy will invest $1.6 billion into the plant’s upgrades, pending regulatory approval.

When TMI-1 was shut down in 2019, safety diesel fuel tanks were drilled into and filled with concrete to eliminate chances of leaks into the environment. Transformers had their oil drained and then were scrapped as Exelon saw little chance for reopening. Thus, replacement transformers for the reopening of TMI-1 cost $100 million in 2025. The steam generators were drained and exposed to air during decommissioning, but were found to be in good condition during inspections in 2025. During inspections, Constellation found no parts that would require so much time to have to push back the scheduled opening past 2028. Since the nuclear facility was deemed to be in excellent condition, there is a chance it could reopen a year early in 2027. In November of 2025, the Loan Programs Office of the United States Department of Energy announced that it would loan $1 billion to Constellation Energy to assist in the project of reopening of Unit 1.

Seismic risk

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's estimate of the risk each year of an earthquake intense enough to cause core damage to the reactor at Three Mile Island was 1 in 25,000, according to an NRC study published in August 2010.

Notes

References

References

1. "EIA - State Nuclear Profiles". United States Energy Information Administration.
2. "Three Mile Island Generating Station".
3. "PRIS - Reactor Details".
4. Brubaker, Jack. (March 27, 2019). "How did Three Mile Island get its name? It was another mistake! [The Scribbler]".
5. (2022-06-01). "Damaged Three Mile Island reactor gets a new corporate parent".
6. "Fact Sheet on the Three Mile Island Accident". US [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission]].
7. Hatch. (1990). "Cancer near the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant: Radiation Emissions". Oxford Journals.
8. Levin. (2008). "Incidence of thyroid cancer in residents surrounding the three mile island nuclear facility". Laryngoscope.
9. (June 1991). "Cancer rates after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident and proximity of residence to the plant". American Journal of Public Health.
10. "Vermont Legislative Research Shop".
11. (September 14, 2021). "Contract Worker Killed in Accident at Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant in Pa., Exelon Says".
12. "Accident at Three Mile Island". Policy Almanac.
13. "History of Three Mile Island". WHP.
14. "GPU, Inc. – Company History".
15. "FirstEnergy – Company history".
16. "FAQ".
17. Thompson, Charles. (2019-03-19). "Save Three Mile Island? What a difference 40 years makes".
18. (30 May 2017). "After failing to clear PJM auction, Exelon says Three Mile Island nuke will close in 2019". Utility Dive.
19. (December 3, 2018). "Middletown – Three mile Island".
20. Sholtis, Brett. "Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Shuts Down".
21. "Three Mile Island Decommissioning".
22. Phillips, Susan. (April 17, 2020). "Pennsylvania Raises Alarms on Transfer of Radioactive Three Mile Island Reactor". State Impact Pennsylvania.
23. (2024-09-20). "Microsoft AI Needs So Much Power It's Restarting Site of US Nuclear Meltdown". Bloomberg.com.
24. (8 May 2024). "Three Mile Island, Unit 1 / Crane Clean Energy Center (Pending)". United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
25. Plumer, Brad. (2024-09-20). "Three Mile Island Plans to Reopen as Demand for Nuclear Power Grows". New York Times.
26. (2021-03-24). "NRC: Three Mile Island – Unit 2".
27. "NRC: Emergency Planning Zones".
28. (2011-04-14). "Nuclear neighbors: Population rises near US reactors".
29. "Electricity Data Browser".
30. "Electricity Data Browser".
31. "A Corporate History of Three Mile Island {{!}} Three Mile Island Alert".
32. "Three Mile Island". Amerigen – Exelon Corporation.
33. "Three Mile Island 1 – Pressurized Water Reactor". [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission]].
34. DiSavino, Scott. (October 22, 2009). "NRC renews Exelon Pa. Three Mile Isl reactor license". Thomson Reuters.
35. Stephanie Cooke (2009). ''[[In Mortal Hands: A Cautionary History of the Nuclear Age]]'', Black Inc., p. 299.
36. (May 8, 2019). "Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Is Shutting Down". The New York Times.
37. Geuss, Megan. (2019-05-09). "The last reactor at Three Mile Island is shutting down".
38. Sholtis, Brett. (November 2023). "Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant Shuts Down".
39. Halper, Evan. (July 10, 2024). "A nuclear accident made Three Mile Island infamous. AI's needs may revive it.". [[The Washington Post]].
40. (February 8, 1993). "Man Crashes Car Through Gates at Three Mile Island". Los Angeles Times.
41. (2021-08-24). "Remembering 9/11: Fear at Three Mile Island".
42. "US attacks: The Three Mile Island connection {{!}} Wise International".
43. (November 22, 2009). "Three Mile Island radiation leak investigated". CNN.
44. "Radiation leak at Three Mile Island". ABC News – WPVI Philadelphia.
45. (2021-09-13). "Worker killed in 'material handling accident' at Three Mile Island".
46. Gish, Jere. (2021-09-13). "Worker dies in 'material handling accident' at Three Mile Island".
47. "Three Mile Island – Unit 2". [[Nuclear Regulatory Commission]].
48. "Three Mile Island – Facts & Summary".
49. "Three Mile Island: 1979". World Nuclear Association.
50. (March 30, 1999). "No Evidence Reactor Leak Caused Cancer". The Washington Post.
51. "Three Mile Island {{!}} TMI 2 {{!}}Three Mile Island Accident". World Nuclear Association.
52. "Settlement of Medical Claims".
53. "Three Mile Island – Unit 2". U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
54. (May 31, 2017). "A history of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant".
55. "FAQ for the China Syndrome". [[IMDb]].
56. (January 22, 2010). "Three Mile Island generator moving to Shearon Harris". [[WRAL-TV]].
57. "Exelon – Merger Filing".
58. "A Corporate History of Three Mile Island – Three Mile Island Alert".
59. "Exelon – Three Mile Island Unit – 1".
60. "Three Mile Island: About TMI – About Us".
61. Allen Abel, ''Life after a meltdown: Locals near Three Mile Island may be wary, but they aren't moving'', The [[National Post]], Saturday, March 19, 2011, p. A5.
62. Barrett, Paul. (2016-12-22). "States Are the Nuclear Industry's Best Hope". Bloomberg.com.
63. (2017-06-23). "Three Mile Island operator takes another step toward closing nuclear plant". PennLive.com.
64. "Three Mile Island fights once again for its nuclear survival". Philly.com.
65. Maykuth, Andrew. (5 April 2019). "Three Mile Island nuclear reactor dismantling could take six decades, more than $1 billion".
66. (2023-05-11). "Three Mile Island enters new phase of cleanup".
67. (2024-01-19). "Crews in training to remove last of fuel from Three Mile Island Unit 2".
68. (2013-08-29). "Three Mile Island decommission cost put at $918M".
69. (September 20, 2024). "Constellation to Launch Crane Clean Energy Center, Restoring Jobs and Carbon-Free Power to the Grid". Constellation Energy.
70. Hiller, Jennifer. (September 20, 2024). "Three Mile Island's Nuclear Plant to Reopen, Help Power Microsoft's AI Centers". Wall Street Journal.
71. Sherman, Natalie. (September 20, 2024). "Three Mile Island nuclear site to reopen in Microsoft deal". BBC News.
72. "Resurrecting Three Mile Island".
73. Lehman, Tom. (2025-06-25). "Nuclear plant at TMI could reopen earlier than expected".
74. "The Three Mile Island Readout {{!}} The Foundation for American Innovation".
75. Bill Dedman. (March 17, 2011). "What are the odds? US nuke plants ranked by quake risk".
76. "Hotmail, Outlook en Skype inloggen – Laatste nieuws – MSN Nederland".