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Comparing nuclear power plant crises

Three Mile IslandChernobylFukushima
Near Middletown, Pa., March 28, 1979Pripyat, Ukraine, April 26, 1986Near Sendai, Japan, Friday
What happened
Cooling malfunction caused a partial meltdown, destroying the reactor. Radioactive gases were released.A systems test led to power surges that ruptured the reactor vessel, causing explosions and a fire that spewed radioactive gases. An earthquake-generated tsunami caused reactor cooling pumps to fail. That left fuel rods exposed, allowing the rods to overheat. There have been explosions at three reactors, Units 1, 2 and 3, but containment vessels were not ruptured.
Health impact
Studies in the immediate area found average exposures to residents were less than a chest X-ray, and no measurable health effects could be conclusively linked to the accident. Researchers have, however, detected an increased incidence of thyroid cancer in Lancaster and York counties, near the plant. Thyroid cancer did not increase in Dauphin County, where the plant is located. A total of 134 plant staff and emergency workers suffered from radiation sickness because of high doses of radiation. During the first few months after the accident, 28 of them died. About 6,000 cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed in survivors who were young at the time of the incident. As of 2005, 15 had died, according to a United Nations report released in February. Fifteen people have been injured in the explosions and one worker died in a crane accident. Japanese officials say 22 people suffered radiation contamination and almost 200 others may have been exposed after the first explosion on Saturday. As a precaution, officials distributed 230,000 units of iodine to protect against thyroid cancer that could be caused by radiation.
Site now
Damaged reactor remains closed; second reactor is operating.A 30-mile exclusion zone was created around the reactor. People in a 19-mile radius were ordered to stay indoors to avoid potential health risks from radiation.
Sources: News reports, The Laryngoscope,The United Nations Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation

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