why did the united states slow its construction of nuclear power plants in the 1980s
Three Mile Island accident The accident crystallized anti-nuclear safety concerns among activists and the general public, resulted in new regulations for the nuclear industry, and has been cited as a contributor to the decline of a new reactor construction program that was already underway in the 1970s.[6] The partial meltdown resulted in the release of radioactive gases and radioactive iodine into the environment. Worries were expressed by anti-nuclear movement activists;[7] however, epidemiological studies analyzing the rate of cancer in and around the area since the accident, determined there was a small statistically non-significant increase in the rate and thus no causal connection linking the accident with these cancers has been substantiated.[8][9][10][11][12][13] Cleanup started in August 1979, and officially ended in December 1993, with a total cleanup cost of about $1Â billion.[14]