The Nation - News from April 11, 1985
As much as 20% of the core of the Three Mile Island nuclear plant melted in the 1979 accident, according to a report released by a federal contractor. By the time the molten material, including some uranium fuel and metal components, flowed to the bottom of the reactor vessel, it had solidified, stopping its descent, said Harold Burton, TMI project manager for EG&G; Idaho, which is under contract to the Department of Energy. During the accident, the core of the Unit 2 reactor overheated when it was no longer covered with vital cooling water.
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