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The most serious accident in US commercial nuclear power history: people vs. government

The most serious accident in US commercial nuclear power history: people vs. government the Morehead News By Nicole Back  February 13, 2009 After three decades, the debate continues.The Nuclear Regulatory Commission stands by its claim that the most serious accident in US commercial nuclear power history did not cause any physical harm to those who were directly affected.Hundreds of people lived near Three Mile Island when equipment malfunctions, design related problems and worker errors led to the partial meltdown of the TMI-2 reactor core. Residents insist the US government is lying about what really happened to them.“Here I am 30 years later and I’m absolutely astounded that they got away with murder,” Mary Osborne said………………………..Osborne has been researching the accident and its effects on her and her neighbors ever since it happened. She takes pictures of mutated plants and animals, collects official documents and gives presentations in Washington, D.C. She has written separate letters to The Economist and Fortune Magazine. Her work was presented in Japan in 1987 and at DePaul University in Chicago in 2001…………………………………A professor with the University of North Carolina School of Public Health led a study of cancer cases within 10 miles of the facility from 1975-85. Dr. Steven Wing’s findings were published in the Journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in November 2003.

According to his report, hundreds of local residents questioned the NRC’s position that high-level radiation exposure as a result of TMI was impossible. People who lived near TMI reported metallic taste, nausea, vomiting diarrhea, erythema, hair loss, deaths of pets and farm and wild animals and damage to plants………………………..Lung cancer and leukemia rates were two to 10 times higher downwind of the TMI reactor than upwind……………………..On December 3, 2002 The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the Summary Judgment of the United Sates District Court for the Middle District. Lawyers for 1,990 plaintiffs who claimed they suffered health damage from radiation released during the reactor meltdown gave up. The lawsuits were mostly against former TMI owner General Public Utilities Corp.

The Morehead News – The most serious accident in US commercial nuclear power history: people vs. government

Tags: nuclear, antinuclear, urasnium, radioactive

February 14, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA