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Meltdown (2020) : Throughline What happens when an accident puts the public at risk? In the early hours of March 28, 1979, a system malfunction set off what would become the worst nuclear accident in American history. What ensued punctured the public's belief in the safety of nuclear energy and became a cautionary tale about the consequences of communication breakdown during a crisis. This week, the fallout of a catastrophic event, and its ramifications for the public trust.

Throughline

Meltdown (2020)

Meltdown (2020)

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  • The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant two days after a meltdown forced a temporary closure of the plant.
    The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant two days after a meltdown forced a temporary closure of the plant.
    Bettmann/Bettmann Archive
  • President Carter, center right, accompanied by Dr. Harold Denton, Director of the U.S. Nuclear Agency, left, and Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh, left-rear, tour the control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Middletown, Pa. on April 1, 1979, four days after the nuclear accident.
    President Carter, center right, accompanied by Dr. Harold Denton, Director of the U.S. Nuclear Agency, left, and Pennsylvania Gov. Dick Thornburgh, left-rear, tour the control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Middletown, Pa. on April 1, 1979, four days after the nuclear accident.
    RUSTY KENNEDY/ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • With one man dressed in an undertaker's outfit, a group of people unfurl a protest banner in front of the cooling towers at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.
    With one man dressed in an undertaker's outfit, a group of people unfurl a protest banner in front of the cooling towers at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.
    Bettmann/Bettmann Archive
  • A safety official checks a worker from the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant for possible exposure to radioactivity, on March 28, 1979, in Middletown, Pa., shortly after an accident at the nuclear power plant led to the release of radioactive gas from the reactor into the atmosphere.
    A safety official checks a worker from the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant for possible exposure to radioactivity, on March 28, 1979, in Middletown, Pa., shortly after an accident at the nuclear power plant led to the release of radioactive gas from the reactor into the atmosphere.
    Anonymous/ASSOCIATED PRESS

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What happens when an accident puts the public at risk? In the early hours of March 28, 1979, a system malfunction set off what would become the worst nuclear accident in American history. What ensued punctured the public's belief in the safety of nuclear energy and became a cautionary tale about the consequences of communication breakdown during a crisis. This week, the fallout of a catastrophic event, and its ramifications for the public trust.

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