Three Mile Island: Fallout of Fear

PAtricia Smith's two daughters were exposed to radiation when the worst U.S. nuclear-power accident struck Three Mile Island. Now Smith, who lives within sight of the crippled generating plant owned by General Public Utilities, wears anti-nuclear-power buttons and frets about her two daughters. Says she: "They had been standing out at the bus stop that morning, so as soon as they come down with any sickness I start to worry about cancer."

Such anxieties infect the Pennsylvania communities around Three Mile Island. Four years after the accident that thoroughly clouded the future of nuclear power, the psychological impact lingers. For some residents it may never end, despite assurances that the radiation leaks were minor. Notes Robert Holt, a New York University psychologist who has pored over all the studies made of the emotional consequences of the mishap: "Significant portions of the population were emotionally shocked by the accident, believe that they have been or will be harmed by radiation, and feel threatened by Three Mile Island."

The traumas range from fear of death to family split-ups. In Middletown, across the Susquehanna River from Three Mile Island, a ten-year-old boy trembled and broke out in sweat more than a year after the accident; he was convinced that he had contracted leukemia. The Rev. David Newhart, a Middletown pastor, has witnessed several marital breakups. Says he: "Just the question of whether to relocate causes great problems. The wife is mainly concerned about the children, while the husband is worried about finding a new job and supporting the family."

Now residents are battling over the reopening of an undamaged unit on the island. That reactor, shut down for refueling when the accident struck its sister plant, has remained closed ever since. Opponents argue that restarting it would create worse emotional wounds and aggravate old ones. "It may well cause worse psychological reactions than the accident itself," says Holt. Last year a federal appeals court ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to require the preparation find a psychological assessment, the first on record, and to consider the findings in deciding whether to allow the undamaged unit to reopen. The commission appealed, and the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule by summer.

On one thing all sides agree: trust has been a major casualty of the Three Mile Island accident. Some residents blame the authorities for allowing the mishap in the first place, while others believe they have been misled about its seriousness. To regain their trust, the utility has assembled a 32-person public information staff and says it reports even the most minute trace of suspect radiation. Says Communications Manager Doug Bedell: "The legacy of mistrust and distrust is very real and all we can do is slog along and be straightforward." But he has a lot to overcome. One of Pat Smith's anti-nuclear-power buttons reads THEY LIE; the I is in the shape of a cooling tower with a menacing plume escaping from it. This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.