Three Mile Island: 20 Years Later

Living on Earth is an independent media program and relies entirely on contributions from listeners and institutions supporting public service. Please donate now to preserve an independent environmental voice.

For information on how to listen to audio on our website, click here.

Air Date: Week of March 5, 1999

Links Related to this Story

PART I

Three Mile Island: 20 Years Later
Host Steve Curwood's retrospective report on the day the oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground in Alaska's Prince William Sound, spilling 11 million gallons of oil, the largest spill ever in the U.S.

TMI Responds
With new procedures and safeguards, the odds of another accident at Three Mile Island are extremely low. And so far, only one of many medical studies has been able to point to any lasting health effects. But the credibility of the nuclear industry remains low.

A Resident Reminisces
"This little corner of the world has always been a safe and secure haven. The things that happened in the rest of the world did not happen here. And suddenly we were the focus of the entire world. I mean, it was really a change. Forever." -- Bonnie Valentine

Culture Meltdown
Once the immediate danger posed by the accident passed, Three Mile Island became grist for talk show hosts and comedy troupes.

PART II

Nuke Power: Past and Future
Nuclear power is the newest technology to make electricity on a large, commercial scale, and it's probably the most controversial one.

Nuclear Energy and Climate Change: A Debate
Nuclear power was defended and challenged in a formal debate held recently in New York City. We've asked the 2 debaters to summarize their arguments, and here's what they had to say.

International Proposals For Nuclear Waste Sites
Even if nuclear power could be produced without risk of accident and very inexpensively, it would still have a major dilemma: what to do with the radioactive waste.