3 Mile Island ( Research Method ) Essay, Research Paper

Introduction

The Three Mile Island accident of 1979 was the worst atomic power works catastrophe in the United States. It happened at a clip when atomic power safety was in inquiry and when the reference of the word Nuclear brought on ideas of war. Besides, it brought the ruin of atomic power as a taking power resource.

The significance it had on media history was it showed people how close to home the danger was and it gave a glance to foreigners on how local occupants have lived in fright of Three Mile Island. The accident brought on a great argument on how safe was atomic power.

Research Method

The media signifier that is in focal point for this research paper are newspaper aritcles from between the two yearss following the accident. The articles where chosen from two different instate newspapers: The Philidelphia Inquirer and The Harrisburg Patriot. The ground these newspapers were chosen was to give two perpectives on the state of affairs, one from a local little market newspaper and one from a more high profile and high circulation newspaper. The authors of the articles varied from staff authors to AP newsmans.

Historical Background

The media epoch in which the event occurred was in the modern media age which still exist today. Mass media consisted of new news media. It was at an terminal of a decennary which featured the weaving down of the Vietnam War and the aftermath of the Watergate dirt. It was besides the twelvemonth prior to an election twelvemonth.

The universe was still under the menace of atomic war. The Cold War epoch was five old ages off from making an all clip high. Journalism was really aggressive and America was still in inquiry onto how safe is atomic power.

Research Findingss

The gap front-page article from the Philidelphia Inquirer gave a elaborate history of how the atomic reactor leaked and provided a diagram how the atomic reactor worked. The author for the gap article on the accident was Inquirer scientific discipline author Joel n. Shurkin. He opens with the following paragraph following paragraph:

The radioactive I that leaked yesterday from the Three Mile Island atomic power station near Harrisburg is one of the inevitable merchandises of atomic fission, the atomic procedure used to bring forth electricity.

The aritcle describes how a atomic reactor should work and what happens when the procedure goes incorrect:

It is fission that produces non merely heat to drive the turbines, but besides risky radioactive substances that, when everything goes right, are contained in a steel-and-concrete chamber: When something goes incorrect, as happened at Three Mile Island, there is the possibility normally considered remote that radiation will leak out.

Shurkin subsequently writes about the universes unknown cognition of the dangers of atomic radiation at the clip:

Scientist bitterly challenge what is a unsafe degree of radiation. Some think that there is a threshold, and that any radiation that does non transcend that threshold does no injury. Other scientist believe that there is no such thing as a good degree.

Shurkin dicusses what happened automatically but ne’er describes what pysically happened at the works. There is no indicant of what workers did at the clip the radiation leak happened nor is there a study from anyone on how the crisis is being solved. The article stays along the line of informing a reader who is unfamiliar with a atomic reactor. In one paragraph,

he writes on how fission workes:

As the uranium gives off radiation, atoms strike nearby U atoms, dividing more atoms. One consequence of the atom splitting, called fission, is a great trade of heat radiation.

Another article on the Inquirer s forepart page, gave a more precise history of what happened at the works and where they were acquiring their information.The following opening paragraph was wriiten by staff author Thomas Ferrick jr. and Susan Q Stranahan:

Radiation was being released yesterday within a 16-mile radius of the Three Mile Island atomic power works sou’-east of Harrisburg, after a valve broke about 4 a.m. in a chilling system of the reactor. The inside of the works was besides contaminated.

The article besides reveals that there was a descrepency on who has the right information on the accident:

The state of affairs is more complex than the company foremost led us excessively believe, said Lt. Gov. William W. Scranton at a intelligence briefing in Harrisburg. Metropolitan has given you ( the intelligence media ) and us ( the province ) conflicting information.

They besides inform the readers of anterior jobs at the power works:

Reports filed with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission indicate a histiry of jobs with both anterior to start-up and subsequently. The unit was shut about five months last-year during its resting stage for assorted alterations, harmonizing to federal functionaries.

The Inquirer s following twenty-four hours issue provided a clearer history of what happened inth island. The articles besides revealed what the state felt about the present state of affairs and how it affects the authorities s standpoint the safety of atomic energy. An article by staff author Ray Holton and William Ecenbarger tells us the sentiments of the occupants near to Three Mile Island. Many occupants felt that the works has brought many occupations to their community. Others feel it has brought them many loses. We lost two 300-pound tips, said one of the people they interviewed. There are two different sides shown by the local husbandmans:

Farmers have reported unusual occurrences among farm animal and wildlife. Enviromentalist have criticized the works as ill designed. And in one case, the works s security was breached a boater who wandered in.

Mrs. Kauffamn, who helps her hubby run a little farm, said she was concerned about her ain safety, but non plenty to travel.

if the good Lord means for me to travel that manner, she said, that s the manner I m traveling to travel. I m non allowing the electric company frighten me out of a place.

More of the article explains that many of the occupants have unexplained deceases of their pets and farm animate beings. Last twelvemonth I lost 12 Canis familiariss, said Paul Holowka, who raised Brittany spaniels at the clip. They died of malignant neoplastic disease. That ne’er used to go on.

Since the first start of the power works in 1974, The wild game started to vanish one occupant lost 70 to 80 caputs of cowss.

The article said that no bureau of authorities at the clip has given verification to the concerns of these husbandmans. The husbandmans felt that the accident was one more indicant that the works was a threat.

One incident involved a boat transporting 20 work forces from a annually fire hook game which the boat got stranded in the center of the river. The boat drifted for about two hours until set downing on Three Mile Island.

One of the crew members got off the boat, climbed the works s security fencing, and wandered the works for a clip until surprising two security officers.