The Intricate Cleanup of a Radioactive Nuclear Disaster Site, 44 Years Later

A 1979 partial nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania is again being cleaned up, after it was sealed off for decades.

Illustration by The Epoch Times, Shutterstock

MIDDLETOWN, Pa.—On March 28, 1979, Ken Klinepeter was 21 and his wife was expecting a baby any day. He worked at an auto parts store in downtown Middletown, Pennsylvania.

“I remember a guy running down the street on the sidewalk with his coat over his head. And I could hear this loudspeaker,“ said Mr. Klinepeter, now 65 and Middletown Borough manager. ”As it got closer, it was a fire truck going past the store telling everybody to stay inside and keep your doors and windows shut.”