A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On March 28, 1979, America’s worst commercial nuclear accident occurred with a partial meltdown inside the Unit 2 reactor at the Three Mile Island plant near Middletown, Pennsylvania.
And the fact that it is still considered the worst is perhaps a thankful blessing.
The Three Mile Island power station was named after the island on which it was situated in the Susquehanna River. At 4 a.m. on March 28, an automatically operated valve in the Unit 2 reactor mistakenly closed, shutting off the water supply to the main feedwater system (the system that transfers heat from the water actually circulating in the reactor core). This caused the reactor core to shut down automatically, but a series of equipment and instrument malfunctions, human errors in operating procedures and mistaken decisions in the ensuing hours led to a serious loss of water coolant from the reactor core and a partial core meltdown.
As the drama unfolded, news coverage ramped up. Newspapers and TV stations covered an uncertain outcome with worry.
According to historical accounts, the core melted down but little of the dangerous radioactive gases actually escaped into the atmosphere, and they did not constitute a threat to the health of the surrounding population. In the following days, adequate coolant water circulation in the core was restored.
The accident, though minuscule in its health consequences, had widespread and profound effects on the American nuclear power industry. It resulted in the closing of seven operating reactors like those at Three Mile Island.
A moratorium on the licensing of all new reactors was also temporarily imposed, and the whole process of approval for new plants by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission was significantly slowed for years. No new reactors were ordered by utility companies in the United States from 1979 through the mid-1980s
This May 22, 2017, file photo shows the control room at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pa. | Matt Rourke, File, Associated Press 
The front page of the Deseret News on March 29, 1979. Even today, as nuclear energy has continued to develop and small nuclear reactor energy sources are developed, memories of Three Mile Island can cause pause.
Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about the incident, the aftermath and nuclear safety in the U.S. and world:
“‘Walking 3 Mile Island’ wrecks a life; Cyanide ravages the brain of man who cleaned tank”
“Three Mile Island owner threatens to close ill-fated plant”
“N-energy running out of steam; U.S. quietly let 17% of its atomic reactors close”
“U.S. kept ignoring evidence about fallout’s deadly effects”
“Defects, distrust left in wake of military testing”
“Is Utah turning a new page to embrace nuclear energy? Poll shows many Utahns would support the move”
“Gov. Cox wants Utah to build toward safe, beneficial advanced nuclear reactors”
This March 30, 1979, file picture shows a cooling tower of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant behind an abandoned playground in Harrisburg, Pa. | Barry Thumma, File, Associated Press