The record indicates that in reporting to state and federal officials on

March 28, 1979, TMI managers did not communicate information in their

possession that they understood to be related to the severity of the

situation. The lack of such information prevented state and federal

officials from accurately assessing the condition of the plant.

In addition, the record indicates that TMI managers presented state and federal

officials misleading statements – statements that were inaccurate and

incomplete, that conveyed the impression the accident was substantially

less severe and the situation more under control than what the managers

themselves believed and what was, in case, the fact. (“Reporting of

Information Concerning The Accident At Three Mile Island,” A Report

Prepared by the Majority Staff of the Committee On Interior and Insular

Affairs of the U.S. House of Representatives, 97th Congress, First session,

March 1981.)

For 11 days, in June and July 1980, MetEd illegally vented 43,000 curies of

radioactive Krypton-85 (beta and gamma, with a 10-year half life) and other

radioactive gasses into the environment without having scrubbers in place (6).

In November 1980, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of

Columbia ruled that the krypton venting (June-July, 1980) was illegal.

In February 1981, a $20 million fund was set up to pay over 15,000 claims

for affected area residents and business within the 25-mile radius of TMI.

Another $5 million was set up to establish the TMI Public Health Fund. However,

several years after the establishment of the TMI Public Health Fund (1986),

TMI-Alert and area political representatives unsuccessfully petitioned the federal

court to remove the Fund’s administrators due to nepotism and poor

communication with the community.

The lead attorney in the class action, David Berger of Philadelphia,

received $1,389,06 ($25-$260 per hour); his family law firm billed $175,056

and an additional $20,112 for report preparation. Legal bills totaled $2.5

million, which was less than the $4 million the attorney requested from the

Court. Judge Sylvia Rambo received the fees.

March, 1982: The American Journal of Public Health reported: “During

the first two quarters of 1978, the neonatal mortality rate within a 10-mile

radius of Three Mile Island was 8.6 and 7.6 per 1,000 live births, respectively.

During the first quarter of 1979, following the startup of accident-prone Unit 2,

the rate jumped to 17.2; it increased to 19.3 in the quarter following the

accident at TMI and returned to 7.8 and 9.3, respectively, in the last two

quarters of 1979.” (Dr. Gordon MacLeod, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department

of Health).

In February 1983 11,000 claims for lost wages and evacuation expenses

were settled for $2.35 million.

July 24-27, 1984, during the 159-ton reactor head lift, which was

delayed due to polar crane failure, GPU vented radioactive gases into the

environment despite pledges by the company and the NRC that no radioactive

releases would occur. This is the time there has been direct access to Unit-2’s

damaged fuel. GPU was fined $40,000 by the NRC for this violation.

November 6, 1984 - Research conducted by the Department of Energy

(DOE) on reactor damage during the accident, indicates temperatures may have

reached in excess of 4,800 degrees. (See February 9, 1990, for follow-up

research.)

1985 “ TMI’s owners and builders had paid more than $14 million for out-

of-court settlements of personal injury lawsuits. The largest settlement was for a

child born with Down’s Syndrome.($12.250 million paid to 280 plaintiffs and

Orphans Court Cases.)

On July 12, 1985, two workers who participated in the initial phase of the

cleanup and contracted cancer, joined 2,500 area residents suing GPU.

August, 1985: Marc Sheaffer, a psychologist at the Uniformed Services

University of the health Sciences in Bethesda, released a study linking TMI-

related stress with immunity impairments. (See August, 1987 and April, 1988,

for related studies.)

August, 1987: James Rooney and Sandy Prince of Embury of Penn State

University reported that chronically elevated levels of psychological stress have

existed among Middletown residents since the accident. (See August, 1985 and

April, 1988, for related studies.)

April, 1988: Andrew Baum, professor of medical psychology at the

Uniformed Services University of the health Sciences in Bethesda discussed the

results of his research on TMI residents in Psychology Today. “When we

compared groups of people living near Three Mile Island with a similar group

elsewhere, we found that the Three Mile Island group reported more physical

complaints, such as headaches and back pain, as well as more anxiety and

depression. We also uncovered long-term changes in levels of hormones...These

hormones affect various bodily functions, including muscle tension,

cardiovascular activity, overall metabolic rate and immune-system function....”

(See August, 1985 and August, 1985, for related studies.)

1989: After ten years of defueling activities, 5,000 TMI workers have

received “measurable doses” of radiation exposure.

June, 1991: Columbia University’s Health Study (Susser-Hatch)

published results of their findings in the American Journal of Public Health. The

study actually shows a more than doubling of all observed cancers after the

accident at TMI-2, including: lymphoma, leukemia, colon and the hormonal

category of breast, endometrium, ovary, prostate and testis. For leukemia and

lung cancers in the six to 12 km distance, the number observed was almost four

times greater. In the 0-six km range, colon cancer was four times greater. The

study found “a statistically significant relationship between incidence rates after

the accident and residential proximity to the plant.” (See August, 1996 for Wing

Study.)

By 1993, TMI-2 had evaporated 2.3 million gallons of accident generated

radioactive generated water, including tritium a radioactive form of hydrogen

(half life; 12. 5 years), into the atmosphere despite legal objections from

community-based organizations.

June 4, 1996 - U.S. District Judge Sylvia H. Rambo granted summary

judgment to GPU and its co-defendants in consolidated proceedings of more than

2,000 personal injury claims arising from the March 1979 accident at TMI.

(See August 1996, November 2, 1999 and June 12, 2000 for related health suit

activities.)

August, 1996 - A study by the University of North Carolina-Chapel-Hill,

authored by Dr. Steven Wing, reviewed the Susser-Hatch (Columbia University)

study released in June 1991. Dr. Wing reported “...there were reports of

erythema, hair loss, vomiting, and pet death near TMI at the time of the

accident...Accident doses were positively associated with cancer incidence.

Associations were largest for leukemia, intermediate for lung cancer, and

smallest for all cancers combined...Inhaled radionuclide contamination could

differentially impact lung cancers, which show a clear dose-related increase.”

(See June 4, 1996, November 2, 1999 and June 12, 2000, for related

developments on TMI health claims.)

By 1996, the plant's owners, co-defendants and insurers have paid over

$80 million in health, economic and evacuation claims, including a $1.1

million settlement for a baby born with Down's Syndrome.

November 2, 1999 -The Third Circuit Court of Appeals “revived the the

rest of the lawsuits [1,990], citing those individuals constitutional right to have

their cases heard by a jury.” The Circuit Court upheld U.S. District Chief Judge

Sylvia H. Rambo’s “ruling on the expert testimony and the dismissal of the 10

[test cases.” (Pennsylvania Law Weekly, June 12, 200). (Also refer to June 14

and August 1996 and June 12, for United States Supreme Court rejection of

GPU’s appeals.)

June 12, 2000: The United States Supreme Court , without comment,

rejected an appeal by GPU to throw out 1,990 health suits. (Please refer to June

4 and August 1996 and November 2 1999, and May 2, 2001, for related

developments.)

May 2, 2001: The Third Circuit Court ruled that “new theories” to

support medical claims against Three Mile island will not be allowed. (Please

refer to June 4 and August 1996 and November 2 1999, and July 12, 2000, for

related developments.)

Throid cancer, 1995-2002: Dr. Roger Levin, chief division of

otolaryngology/head and neck surgery, PinnacleHealth System in Harrisburg,

and clinical associate professor of surgery, Penn State College of Medicine.. Levin

did his research so he could join The Triological Society, a society for ear, nose

and throat specialists and head and neck surgeons. His paper is scheduled to be

published in the society's peer-reviewed journal, The Laryngoscope, in an

upcoming month.

Findings: In reviewing state health data, Levin found more thyroid cancer

cases than expected in York County for every year except one between 1995 and