Confessions of a G33k

25 Years Ago, Catastrophe Loomed on Three Mile Island

By Sam Kennedy, The Allentown (PA) Morning Call

Word first reached the public by radio at 8:25 a.m. Wednesday, March 28, 1979 — 25 years ago today.

''There is a general emergency at Metropolitan Edison Co.'s Three Mile Island nuclear power plant,'' announced a local station, which was tipped off by an unusual amount of activity on the CB scanner.

The problem had started 41/2 hours earlier at the plant's Unit 2 reactor when a pump stopped working and a relief valve failed to close, allowing cooling water to drain from the nuclear core, which in turn overheated.

Gosh, I can't believe it was 25 years ago.