U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for March 28

WASHINGTON, March 28, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

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WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28: NEAR DISASTER

Profile America — Wednesday, March 28th.  One of the most frightening industrial accidents in the U.S. occurred on this date in 1979.  It was 4 a.m. at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant on the Susquehanna River, south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.  A cascading chain of events started when someone mistakenly cross connected air and water lines in the plant's number two reactor.  Before the crisis was over, the plant reportedly came close to a hydrogen gas explosion and a meltdown of its uranium core, which would have caused extensive radiation contamination.  The incident sparked a large scale review of how nuclear power plants were built and operated.  Today, there are 104 such generating plants across the country, producing nearly one-fifth of the country's electricity.  Profile America is in its 15th year as a public service of the U.S. Census Bureau.

Sources:  Kane's Famous First Facts, 3556
www.threemileisland.org 
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 941

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button). 

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

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