“If it’s completely obscene, I
guess it’s alright. But pretty
much everyone swears.
If it’s just a slip of the
tongue, it shouldn’t matter.”
Josh Bashore
Marketing
“It’s a matter of freedom of
speech. Howard Stem tells
us the way it is. I think deep
down, everyone wants to
hear that.”
Kristen Mekulski
Communications
“If you don’t like it, change
the channel.”
Jess Parsons
Communications
“I don’t agree. There should
be more liberties. Freedom of
speech is freedom of speech.”
Joe Quinnan
Secondary Education
25 years later
Penn Staters remember
the TMI meltdown
March 28, 1979 is a date that will forever live in the hearts and minds of many people at Penn
State Harrisburg and central Pennsylvania. It was the day that the Three Mile Island nuclear power
plant malfunctioned. Now 25 years later, the impact of the accident is still being felt by the Penn
State community.
The incident happened at approximately 4 a.m., on the morning of March 28, 1979. The main
feedwater pump at Unit-2 of the plant stopped running. Adding to that was human error and a fail
ure in the warning systems that potentially could have fixed the problem. This led to a partial core
meltdown inside Unit-2 and a drama that would capture the nation.
A student at Penn State Harrisburg was interning for WHP in Harrisburg during the time of the
accident and broke the story to thousands in the Harrisburg area. Dr. William Mahar, associate
provost and staff member of the college for more than 20 years, reminisced about the reporter.
“I remember the reporter broke the story to WHP between 10:30 and noon,” Mahar said. “Eton
Churchill and myself were very proud that he broke the story. He was a really talented student and
we were proud of the fact that he came from our school.”
Mahar also recalled some of the feelings that were going through his mind when the accident
occurred. “There was a feeling of hysteria and also lack of information. I felt that the utility in
charge of the plant failed to inform the public adequately and that the local authorities didn’t have
a plan for the situation.”
On March 30, two days after the acci
dent occurred, Governor Dick
Thornburgh ordered the evacuation of
all pre-school children and pregnant
women within a five mile radius of the
plant. Among those that evacuated was
Jenny Dimeler, administrative assistant
to the library director.
“I had a feeling that I was pregnant but
I wasn’t 100% sure,” Dimeler said. “I
went to Liverpool, PA, in a packed van
with nine people and then I went to
Sunbury and found out that I was indeed
pregnant. I remember trying to call any
body in Middletown but I couldn’t get a
hold of anybody because the phone cir
cuits were full ”
Dimeler also had a personal stake in
the situation. Her husband, Ralph, was
a utility worker at the plant when the
accident occurred.
Dimeter was not the only one on cam
pus who had a personal connection to
the accident. Sharon Blouch’s husband,
Edward, was a fire chief with Middletown borough when the accident occurred. Blouch, staff
assistant to Dr. Mahar, recalled her feelings of that day.
“I was home that day and it was beautiful. My husband Ralph called me and told me to ‘get out
now,”’ Blouch said. “I had a short period of time to get my things and I went to Fredericksburg, Pa.
I was very scared for my husband but I think I was most scared of the fact that I didn’t know a lot
about what was going on.”
The accident at TMI was the worst accident at a nuclear power plant in U.S. history. Unit-2 at the
plant has been closed and Unit-1, which still operates today, will be decommissioned in a couple
of years.
The accident could have been a lot worse. On April 26, 1986, an explosion at the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant in the former Soviet Union killed 31 workers and released enough radiation to
equal 10 Hiroshima atomic bombs. The Chernobyl disaster contaminated much of the countryside
around the plant and the effects of that accident will be felt for many years to come.
By CHRIS TORRES
Staff Reporter