First Debris Taken From Bottom of TMI Reactor

Workers at Three Mile Island have obtained the first samples of debris from the bottom of the crippled reactor at the nuclear power plant, TMI’s operator said Friday.

The samples from TMI’s Unit 2 are believed to contain reactor fuel and parts that melted in March, 1979, during the worst U.S. commercial nuclear power accident, said Gordon Tomb, a spokesman for GPU Nuclear Corp. An analysis of the debris has not yet begun.