| StateImpact Pennsylvania Skip Navigation

Energy. Environment. Economy.

A reporting project of  NPR member stations

In this Aug. 1, 2018 photo weeds engulf a playground at housing section of the former Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster in Warminster, Pa. In Warminster and surrounding towns in eastern Pennsylvania, and at other sites around the United States, the foams once used routinely in firefighting training at military bases contained per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. EPA testing between 2013 and 2015 found significant amounts of PFAS in public water supplies in 33 U.S. states.
March 31, 2019 | 6:57 AM

Company reveals amount of toxic PFAS substitute it sent to plant in South Jersey

By Jon Hurdle
FILE PHOTO: Newsmen and spectators stand in front of the main gate of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Middletown, Penn., April 2, 1979.
March 29, 2019 | 6:00 AM

‘I remember TMI’: An oral history of the 1979 Three Mile Island accident as told by people who lived nearby

Seven residents tell their stories of uncertainty, confusion, fear and the decision they faced: Stay home amid risk of radiation, or flee.

By Scott Blanchard
In March 1979, Middletown Borough was home to approximately 11,000 residents. It was estimated at that time that 20 percent of the population packed up and temporarily left the area due to the uncertainty of what might transpire at Three Mile Island.
March 29, 2019 | 5:00 AM

Forty years later, the prospect of a TMI-related evacuation remains daunting

The last several decades have brought more detailed plans and better technology, but the people responsible for TMI disaster prep say there will always be unknowns.
By Katie Meyer
As a boy, Yuji Onuma won a contest to create the town slogan for Futaba, Japan. His phrase -- "Atomic power: energy for a bright future" -- was enshrined on an archway over the town's main street. But after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, Onuma -- like many in Japan -- has turned against what he used to champion. Here, he stands in front of the archway holding a banner that modifies his slogan as statements opposing nuclear energy.
March 28, 2019 | 4:23 PM

‘I am the witness’: Post-Fukushima, a Japanese man’s regrets mirror his country’s turn against nuclear power

Yuji Onuma was the pride of Futaba, Japan as a 12-year-old, when he won a town slogan contest by praising nuclear power. But eight years after the meltdown, Futaba is deserted and Onuma no longer believes in nuclear energy. ‘I’m glad that I realized my mistake before I died,’ he says.

By Susan Phillips
FILE PHOTO: Three Mile Island nuclear plant incident - President Jimmy Carter, second from left, visits the nuclear plant near Harrisburg, Pa., USA, April 4, 1979.
March 28, 2019 | 4:00 PM

Watch: Meltdown at Three Mile Island: 40 Years Later

A look at what happened inside the containment building at TMI on March 28, 1979, and the chaos, confusion, miscommunication and fear in the area after the accident occurred.

By Staff
In this Aug. 1, 2018 photo, a water tower stands above a residential neighborhood in Horsham, Pa. In Horsham and surrounding towns in eastern Pennsylvania, and at other sites around the United States, the foams once used routinely in firefighting training at military bases contained per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. EPA testing between 2013 and 2015 found significant amounts of PFAS in public water supplies in 33 U.S. states.
March 28, 2019 | 2:39 PM

Wolf’s $8M to remove PFAS from Bucks water won’t solve the problem, activists say

By Catalina Jaramillo
Protesters gather for a vigil outside the north gate of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Londonderry Township, Dauphin County.
March 28, 2019 | 8:34 AM

A symbolic act of civil disobedience at Three Mile Island vigil

'Sometimes you have to teach the younger generation that they have to come out and cross a line to make a point.'
By Tim Lambert
U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson Plant is in the eastern Pittsburgh suburbs.
March 28, 2019 | 6:35 AM

Proposal to drill for shale gas at U.S. Steel site near Pittsburgh prompts contentious hearing

By Amy Sisk
Rep. Thomas Mehaffie (R- Dauphin) unveils a bill aimed a preventing the early closure of two of Pennsylvania's five nuclear power plants.
March 28, 2019 | 6:30 AM

Poll: Public is split on whether state should act to prop up nuclear industry

Respondents generally support nuclear as part of the state’s energy mix. But when it comes to the government acting to help out the industry, they aren’t so sure.

By Reid Frazier
FILE PHOTO: Mrs. Joanne Noel, prepares her flower bed for planting in front of her Middletown, Pa., home as daughter Danielle, 4, watches as she sits on the ground, May 18, 1979. Noel evacuated her home with her children during the crisis at Three Mile Island, seen in the background.
March 28, 2019 | 6:00 AM

‘Three Mile Island: As It Happened’ — a three-part podcast

Relive the moment-by-moment tensions as the nation’s worst nuclear accident unfolded at Three Mile Island in March 1979.

By Tim Lambert
LOAD MORE