There have been rumors relating to the fact that the authorities might have lied concerning the number of curies released and that it had actually been much bigger.
While the initial communications from the authorities advised people not to panic and that the situation had been under control, the later reports informed people that precautions needed to be taken. Several tens of thousands of people had been evacuated from the area within a few days and the surrounding schools had been closed. According to surveys done consequent to the event, people apparently considered that the job done by the authorities had been deficient.
According to the studies performed in order to determine the level of radiation exposure, people had not been subjected to life-threatening doses of radiation. The average dose of radiation to which people have been subjected to consequent to the TMI incident is believed to be eight millirem. A person is considered to experience a similar exposure during a normal chest X-ray.
In spite that there have been reports of people, plants, and animals behaving as if they had been subjected to large doses of radiation, none of the cases could be linked to the TMI accident. Later investigations proved that no serious damage has been done to the surrounding environment as a result of the nuclear incident.
According to the reports concerning the potential rise of people with cancer in the area, the radiation did not produce more cases of cancer. However, the later reports claimed that the cancer rate in the area had grown to disturbing proportions in the years following the accident. The 1997 report of the effects of the TMI nuclear accident "concludes that increases in lung cancer and leukemia near the Pennsylvania plant suggest a much greater release of radiation during the 1979 accident than had been believed." (Joby Warrick, 1997) It appears that the previous reports had failed in giving an accurate approximation of the effects that radioactivity has had on the surrounding environment. The number of people with either lung-cancer or leukemia had increased downwind of the plant, as people there had a greater risk of exposure to radioactivity.
There have been numerous cases in which authorities have attempted to cover up the effects...
Time, however, brings truth forward and makes people realize the risks that an incident of such magnitude presents.
Works cited:
1. Walker J. Samuel. (2006). "Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective." University of California Press.
2. Warrick, Joby. (1997). "Study Links Three Mile Island Radiation Releases to Higher Cancer Rates." Retrieved July 28, from the Washington Post Web site: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/tmi/stories/study022497.htm
3. (2001). "Three Mile Island: 1979." Retrieved July 28, 2009, from the World Nuclear Association Web site: http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf36.html
4. "No Radiological Health Effects at TMI." Retrieved July 28, 2009, from the American Nuclear Society Web site: http://www.ans.org/pi/resources/sptopics/tmi/healtheffects.html
5. "Fact Sheet on the Three Mile Island Accident." Retrieved July 28, 2009, from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Web site: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html
(2001). "Three Mile Island: 1979." Retrieved July 28, 2009, from the World Nuclear Association Web site: http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf36.html
"Fact Sheet on the Three Mile Island Accident." Retrieved July 28, 2009, from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Web site: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html
Walker J. Samuel. (2006). "Three Mile Island: A Nuclear Crisis in Historical Perspective." University of California Press.
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"No Radiological Health Effects at TMI." Retrieved July 28, 2009, from the American Nuclear Society Web site: http://www.ans.org/pi/resources/sptopics/tmi/healtheffects.html
"Fact Sheet on the Three Mile Island Accident." Retrieved July 28, 2009, from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Web site: http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/3mile-isle.html
Warrick, Joby. (1997). "Study Links Three Mile Island Radiation Releases to Higher Cancer Rates." Retrieved July 28, from the Washington Post Web site: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/tmi/stories/study022497.htm
