Posts Tagged TMI
“Leak” at Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant: CNN and ABC News Get it Wrong
Posted by John Wheeler in News, Podcasts on November 22, 2009
This Week in Nuclear Episode 80 – MP3 File
If you were watching CNN or ABC News last night and this morning you may have believed a major accident was underway at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant. Both news sources reported there had 
been a “radiation leak” at the plant and more than 100 workers were contaminated.
Both CNN and ABC News were blatantly wrong; there was not a “radiation leak” from the plant. What happened was a minor spread of radioactive dust and particles during maintenance activities inside the reactor building. Some workers in the vicinity got material on their clothes and skin that had to be washed off. The material was easily contained and there was no leak from the plant into the environment.
I first learned about this from April Schilpp, who I follow on Twitter. April is a communications specialist in Lancaster, PA.
In this podcast April and I discuss what happened, how the social media helped get the word out, and how the companies and other stakeholders could have used social media to keep the mainstream news sources honest.
OSHA: Working in a Nuclear Plant is Safer than Office Work
Posted by John Wheeler in Myth Busting & Analysis, News on May 6, 2009
An interesting article at ReliablePlant.com about safety improvements at US commercial nuclear plants after the TMI partial core meltdown 30 years ago. Yes, the title of this article is true, but there is more:
When it comes to safety, added layers of protection only enhance nuclear energy’s capability to provide clean, efficient power, with performance levels increasing steadily over time. In 2008, U.S. nuclear plants surpassed coal, natural gas, oil and all other fuels that make electricity by operating to more than 90 percent of their total rated capacity. Nuclear plants also generated approximately 805.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity last year, enough to serve the total year’s electricity needs of one-fifth the U.S. population.
