Nuclear Hotseat #196: Three Mile Island Anniversary SPECIAL

Published: March 25, 2015, 3:09 a.m.

The 36th Anniversary of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, PA, is remembered in this reconstruction of the first three days in human terms – how people first learned of it, the early lies and attempts at a cover-up, how the media dug into the story instead of whitewashing it, and what even hearing the word "evacuation" did to that part of the world. Featured: nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Energy Education; Middletown resident Mary Stamos; TMI Alert technical expert Scott Portzline; former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Peter Bradford; with media clips of Walter Cronkite and interviews done by reporters at the time of the accident, all interwoven with Libbe HaLevy's story of being somewhere she didn't want to be - one mile from a nuclear meltdown. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Radioactive feminine hygiene products found in shipment from Dubai to Beirut, Lebanon… but the U.S. isn't equipped to make a similar catch because we don't test imported products for radiation!