Submitted March 24, 2009, 2:01 AM
What do you remember about the accident at Three Mile Island? How did you hear about what happened at the plant? What was your reaction?
Yes I do remember...I was 19yrs old and I was pregnant with my first child...due date was in Sept of 1979 but was a wk or two early.....I was living in Ft Meade MD and was in Harrisburg visiting my parents. People were talking about the atmosphere the clouds and sky looked like it was the beginning of dooms day..sirens were going off....people were wondering what was going on....at one point or another we begain hearing something on the news about the Nuclear Reactor at TMI some thing about a leak....my reaction was is this the beginning of an end.
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If you were a resident living close-by the plant, please describe your experiences. If you had preschool children or were pregnant at the time, did you follow the evacuation advisory? Did you flee the area?
I was pregnant at the time...my parents were concerned for me because of my condition....that had insisted that I return to FT Meade Md....my husband herd the news and he called and said he was coming to get me.....some people were evacuating for fear of the unknown....we were sitting around waiting for information on what to do....I did flee from the area because I was pregnant and information was coming out in dribbles.
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What did you think of the responses of the government, the industry and the press to the accident?
I think not to create anxiety from the public of course there is always with holding of information until they can put things into perspective...so I feel that it was downplayed until things start to unfold and then they decided to give the public some thing that sent a shock wave and really got every body attention....I was scared riding all the way back to MD...just listening to the news.
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What are your reflections about the Three Mile Island accident more than two decades later? If you live or lived in the area, what longterm effects did TMI have on your family and community? Did the accident affect your opinion about nuclear power and other technologies?
My reflections about TMI every since it happend is that I know that some way or another I will not escape from this accident....It will affect me and my unborn child some way or another....and it did 30 yrs after as of 3-23-09 he was diagnoised with Lung Cancer....he was born being mentally challenged. Nuclear power plants is constucted for the purpose of giving electricity, not radiating us with radiation. It's by the Grace of God that Harrisburg Middletown and surrounding area's are still here...but unfortunatly people are still dying.
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Do you have any further thoughts or reflections about Three Mile Island?
I feel that there was more radiation released than admitted....unanswered questions that will probably be debated especially by those of us who suffer from ill health effects as a result of the TMI accident. That is why there has not been a long-term analysis done...it takes 10 15 25 and I can truly say 30 yrs for ill effects to show up. There should be a Congressional investigation...there should be a Human Life Amendment where people's lives are more important...but when it is all said and done God will be the judge.
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