Three Mile Island nuclear power plant will start the process of shutting down today at 12 noon.
The facility found its place in the history of the United States back in March 1979 when a mechanical failure caused the release of radioactive steam into the air. The power station is located on an island in the Susquehanna River about ten miles down river from Harrisburg.
Read the first and second day articles from the pages of the Scranton Times.
Wednesday, March 28, 1979
Thursday, March 29, 1979
In Pop Culture –
Twelve day before the accident at Three Mile Island, the film “The China Syndrome” premiered on March 16, 1979. The film, starring Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon and Michael Douglas, deals with a nuclear meltdown at a fictional California nuclear reactor.
Advertisement for ‘The China Syndrome’ from the March 30, 1979 edition of the Scranton Times. Times-Tribune Archives
A few days after the accident, Saturday Night Live, did a sketch based on the accident and the film “The China Syndrome”. The sketch was called “The Pepsi Syndrome.” They changed the name of the reactor to “Two Mile Island.” You can read a transcript of the sketch here – http://snltranscripts.jt.org/78/78ppepsi.phtml.
In the 2009 film X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Three Mile Island was the site of secret government facility were mutants were experimented on for the Weapon X program. In the climax of the film, Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman, fights Weapon XI, played by Ryan Reynolds, on top of one of the cooling towers of Three Mile Island. The battle leads to the destruction of the cooling tower. Check out the scene in the trailer at 2:07.
Brian Fulton has been the librarian at The Times-Tribune for the past 15 years. On his blog, Historically Hip, he writes about the great concerts, plays/musicals and celebrity happenings that have taken place throughout NEPA. He is also the co-host of the local history podcast, Historically Hip. He competed and was crowned grand champion on an episode of NPR quiz show “Ask Me Another.” Contact: bfulton@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9140; or @TTPagesPast
