Sarah Feldman
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Lynn Carpenter
Research Mentor School/College/Department: EEB/MCDB / Other
Program: UROPF
Session: Session 4 (1:40pm – 2:30pm)
Authors: Rohan Vyas, Madison Boyd, Judith Long
Abstract
The use of nuclear power in America has been a point of contention between the U.S. government, environmentalist groups, and the general population. Despite its current state, the 1979 meltdown of Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island (TMI) facility in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was the turning point for the nuclear power industry in the United States. This research project aims to accurately reconstruct the events of the accident and the subsequent struggles between the Three Mile Island Alert (TMIA), a group of citizens founded by Mary Osborn and Eric Epstein who took it upon themselves to continue monitoring the radiation levels of TMI and the surrounding area, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). This is done through the close reading and analysis of primary documents such as newspapers from that time, legal correspondence, and more that Mary Osborne had saved over the years to ensure that others would see the trail of mismanagement and how it has affected the people of Harrisburg. Ultimately, this project aims to construct a timeline using the documents, from the disaster to the clean-up of the waste decades later and beyond to those still advocating for the safety of the townspeople. The timeline will then be compiled into a creative non-fiction novel with all of the facts taken directly from those sources; my part focused on the history of radioactivity, its use in nuclear power, and its health effects. The goal of the novel is to educate subsequent generations about how the government’s missteps sabotaged its nuclear power program, and as a tool to learn from if such a project was ever undertaken again.
