Three Mile Island

noun

1. an island in the Susquehanna River, near Middletown, Pennsylvania, SE of Harrisburg: scene of a near-disastrous accident at a nuclear plant in 1979 that raised the issue of nuclear-energy safety.

Three Mile Island

¹

1. The location of an accident in 1979 in a nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania . The plant underwent a partial meltdown that resulted in some radiation leakage into the atmosphere , panic among nearby residents, losses of billions of dollars, and intense criticism of nuclear power programs in general.

Three Mile Island

²

1. The location of an accident in 1979 in a nuclear power plant — an electrical generator powered by a nuclear reactor — in Pennsylvania . The plant underwent a partial meltdown that resulted in very little leakage of radiation into the atmosphere , panic among nearby residents, losses of billions of dollars, and intense criticism of nuclear power programs in general. ( Compare Chernobyl .)

Example Sentences

A lot of myths exploded about nuclear technology by what happened at Three Mile Island.

From The Daily Beast

The accident at Three Mile Island made the nation acutely aware of the safety risks posed by nuclear power plants.

From Project Gutenberg