[ad_1]
A bird flies over the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania. (Source: Reuters)By Jacey Fortin
Forty years after the worst commercial nuclear power plant accident in US history at Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, the only nuclear reactor still in operation on the ground is about to close.
The plant, located in Londonderry Township, Pennsylvania, lost money. In a statement released on Wednesday, Exelon Generation, the company that owns the plant, announced it would close on Sept. 30. The company and its employees were hoping for a state subsidy, and when that failed, a shutdown was the only option, says this statement.
"Today 's day is tough for our employees, who hoped that policymakers would support the development of carbon – free nuclear energy in the same way that they grant it. importance to other forms of clean energy in order to save TMI from an untimely closure, "Bryan Hanson, senior vice president and chief nuclear officer, said in the statement.
A spokesman for the company said the cost of decommissioning the site was estimated at about $ 1.2 billion.
The reactor at the origin of the accident, 40 years ago, does not belong to Exelon. It was dormant long before the company began operating a reactor nearby, about twenty years ago. But for many people around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the words "Three Mile Island" will always evoke memories of this panic.
As reported later by The New York Times, it was "an accident that would engender a week of catastrophic fears, panicked theft, contradictory statements, loud demonstrations, and the". 39, intense confusion.
The disaster struck early in the morning of March 28, 1979, when water cooling pumps failed and a reactor overheated. The temperature continued to rise after a blocked valve misled the operators to stop the flow of emergency cooling water. There was a partial meltdown and the factory was in crisis for several days. The radiation was deliberately released in the air to release the pressure in the system.
The public panic was fueled, in part, by the feeling that people were not sufficiently informed about what had happened – and what they should do to stay safe.
No deaths or immediate injuries have been reported, and studies suggest that the long-term effects of the accident on physical health have been negligible, although this has been disputed. What is clear is that the accident resulted in very strict safety regulations. The damaged reactor on Three Mile Island has never been restarted.
Environmentalists, as well as representatives of competing industries such as natural gas, often oppose nuclear power plants. But some residents of Pennsylvania, including some 700 workers at the plant, are not satisfied with the impending closure.
"I think it's a sad moment for all," said Richard Drey, sales manager of a local Electrical Workers Union, which represents about 200 people working in the facilities. "We thought that there was still hope to keep the place open. It will have a devastating effect on some families. Exelon said this would provide jobs for workers willing to relocate.
The Three Mile Island mill, located in the Susquehanna River near Middletown in central Pennsylvania, has been struggling financially for years. Exelon announced as early as 2017 that it would close the plant "without the necessary political reforms". Advocates of nuclear energy have been supportive of these reforms: two bills have been introduced in the state legislature that would have allowed to devote about $ 500 million to clean energy producers of Pennsylvania, whose nuclear power plants are the main beneficiaries.
This could have kept Three Mile Island open, but no action has been taken regarding the measures.
Accidents like Three Mile Island prevent nuclear power plants from being clean and safe, even if they do not generate greenhouse gases that warm the planet. And cheap natural gas from hydraulic fracturing has forced some US nuclear reactors to shut down.
With these closures, a new problem arises: what to do with all hazardous waste?
"Nobody believes that an island is a site conducive to storing radioactive waste," said Eric Epstein, president of Three Mile Island Alert, a Harrisburg-based nuclear surveillance group founded two years before the accident from 1979. He said that cleanup efforts on the island should be a priority, which could create employment opportunities for people who lose their jobs.
"It's not a festive moment," he said. "It's time to look at reality. With regard to nuclear power and plant cleaning, we are entering a very long and difficult phase. "
[ad_2]
Source link