Abstract
The 1979 accident at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant triggered a domino reaction that threatens the future of the U. S. nuclear power industry. The first section of this special report examines just what progress has been made in cleaning up the damaged Three Mile Island Unit 2 reactor. The next part reports on the progress made by U. S. utilities in complying with the key regulations stemming from the Three Mile Island accident. The third part examines worldwide changes in reactors and control rooms made possible by improving computer technology. The fourth part discusses a series of technical and managerial problems that have struck U. S. and Canadian utilities since 1979. These range from failures of the most basic reactor-safety system to metal fatigue due to thermal stress and neutron bombardment. The final section addresses the burning issues that lie behind the recent headlines and before the industry - overregulation and deliberate licesing procedures, educating the public, and formig cooperative nuclear utilities.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 26-55 |
Number of pages | 30 |
Journal | IEEE Spectrum |
Volume | 21 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1984 |