Ecologist retrieves water sample.
Ecologist wearing a white hazmat suit uses a pipette to retrieve a sample from a toxic river.
Decommissioning TMI cost nearly $1 billion. The DOE is lending as much to resume activity. Is SONGS next?
On November 18th, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) approved a $1 billion loan to Constellation Energy, the nation's leading producer of clean, emissions-free energy, to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant under the new name "Crane Clean Energy Center." The interest-bearing loan was approved as part of a broader strategy to reinvigorate nuclear energy production across the U.S in an effort to "restore reliable nuclear energy to the grid and help America win the AI race." Constellation's benefit lies in lowering its "cost of financing and leveraging private investment." As data centers become increasingly prevalent, the need for energy production grows exponentially. Nuclear may be emission-friendly, but it poses its own threats. Threats that were first realized at the very site the DOE plans to recommission: Three Mile Island.
Cask storage hall at ZWILAG in Switzerland
ZWILAG cask storage hall stores vitrified high-level waste from reprocessing plants and spent fuel elements from the Swiss nuclear power plants in Switzerland.
Cask storage hall at ZWILAG in Switzerland
ZWILAG cask storage hall stores vitrified high-level waste from reprocessing plants and spent fuel elements from the Swiss nuclear power plants in Switzerland.
K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant at the Oak Ridge nuclear facility
US Department of Energy
An aerial view of the K-25 gaseous diffusion plant circa 1945. At the time, it was the largest building in the world.
K-25 Gaseous Diffusion Plant at the Oak Ridge nuclear facility
US Department of Energy
An aerial view of the K-25 gaseous diffusion plant circa 1945. At the time, it was the largest building in the world.
The TMI site is known for its 1979 meltdown, widely regarded as a horror story in nuclear energy production. The plant's second reactor, TMI-2, suffered a partial meltdown after leaking. The incident led to widespread misinformation, panic, and heightened stress among the public. According to an article published by EBSCO, the leading provider of research databases, "on both that [March 28th, 1979] Wednesday morning and the following morning, the utility company issued announcements about the accident, assuring the public that there was no danger to those outside the plant." That Friday, then-Governor Richard Thornburgh instructed approximately 12,000 children and pregnant women to evacuate the area. 140,000 people evacuated the surrounding area in a panic following the contradictory messaging.
In March 1982, Then-Pennsylvania Health Secretary Gordon K. Macleod, M.D. wrote in Volume 72, Issue 3 of the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH), that data from a 1980 article in Proceedings of the Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences showed a 113% increase in the number of people using sleeping pills, an 88% increase in tranquilizer users, a 14% increase in alcohol usage, and a 32% increase in cigarette smokers in affected communities in the week following the meltdown. The former Secretary contends that "it is well documented that low levels of radioiodine were accurately detected in cows' milk following the accident, and presumably ingested by pregnant women."
Cooling Towers of a Nuclear Plant
Biletsky Evgeniy
Lakeside cooling towers shoot water vapor from a nuclear power plant in the evening.
Cooling Towers of a Nuclear Plant
Biletsky Evgeniy
Lakeside cooling towers shoot water vapor from a nuclear power plant in the evening.
Beachgoers walk alongside SONGS.
Diane Edmonds
Beachgoers walk along the coast near the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) at San Onofre State Beach in San Clemente, California.
Beachgoers walk alongside SONGS.
Diane Edmonds
Beachgoers walk along the coast near the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS) at San Onofre State Beach in San Clemente, California.
Senior NRC engineer Victor Stello recalls his pastor gave "general absolution," a sacrament reserved for “when death is imminent,” at Sunday Mass following the incident. Stello remembers the sermon as being emotional, stating, "what we had done to these people [was] just outrageous. Ah, we -- we had frightened them so bad, ah, they thought they were gonna die." A timetable of subsequent legal proceedings published by Three Mile Island Alert (TMIA) indicates the House of Representatives committee responsible for examining TMI's reporting found that "TMI managers did not communicate information in their possession that they understood to be related to the severity of the situation."
The committee determined that excluding this information from their reporting made it impossible for officials to assess the plant's condition accurately. In July 1979, the NRC issued a shutdown order to TMI. By October, "the NRC issued a Notice of Violation (NOV) to [Metropolitan Edison (Met Ed)] for causing the accident." On December 15th, 1979, Met Ed paid the maximum fine recommended by the NRC, but emphasized that they "denied all NRC charges." Less than a year later, Met Ed was stopped by the Susquehanna Valley Alliance (SVA) from dumping seven hundred thousand "gallons of radioactive water into the Susquehanna River," according to TMIA. Shortly thereafter, they were found to have "illegally vented 43,000 curies of radioactive... gases into the environment without having scrubbers in place."
Oil refinery sends smoke into the air
An oil refinery sends smoke into Southern Californian airspace.
Oil refinery sends smoke into the air
An oil refinery sends smoke into Southern Californian airspace.
The President's Commission on Three Mile Island stated that "Pennsylvania's Department of Health was not organized to respond to radiological emergencies," according to MacLeod. The commission warned that "if we fail to learn the lessons of Three Mile Island, we shall be unprepared to protect the public's health during the next nuclear reactor accident." The importance of extensive data collection and ensuring "continuous access to public health protection" is essential if we're to utilize nuclear energy responsibly.
Public health preparedness for a nuclear reactor accident has already been tested, and the results left us wanting. "Every health department serving communities at risk of radiation exposure," MacLeod wrote, "should develop a radiological emergency response plan to address the health aspects of a nuclear accident." On June 8th, 1980, the NRC began requiring that all nuclear reactors be equipped with comprehensive emergency and evacuation plans. However, the NRC issues exemptions to plants undergoing decommissioning.
Aging nuclear power plant
An aging nuclear power plant highlights the increased risks and maintenance challenges of long-serving reactors.
Aging nuclear power plant
An aging nuclear power plant highlights the increased risks and maintenance challenges of long-serving reactors.
Engineer Checks the Industry Cooling Tower
Engineer checks an industry cooling tower on-site.
Engineer Checks the Industry Cooling Tower
Engineer checks an industry cooling tower on-site.
Three Mile Island was granted one of these exemptions in 2020; however, Constellation Energy has since filed a request to rescind and abandon those, as it gears up to resume operations at TMI-1. Other examples include the 2020 exemption granted to the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Massachusetts, the 2015 exemption granted to the Crystal River in Florida, and our very own San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), which received its exemption on June 5th, 2015.
The transparency issues displayed by Metropolitan Edison in 1979 are mirrored by energy companies today. SoCal Edison (SCE), responsible for SONGS, exhibited similar reporting discrepancies, ultimately enabling a radiation leak to occur in 2012. It was found that SoCal Edison knew of the potential for a leak like this to occur as early as 2006. Ultimately, the incident led to SONGS permanently shutting down in June 2013. Now, the decommissioned SONGS houses 3.6 million pounds of radioactive spent nuclear fuel on the Southern California Coastline between San Clemente and Oceanside, California. Given its location, its 2015 exemption is particularly convenient.
Palm trees line the coast
Palm trees line the San Diego coastline at dusk.
Palm trees line the coast
Palm trees line the San Diego coastline at dusk.
A King tide at San Onofre
Diane Edmonds
A King tide at San Onofre causes additional damage to the front seawall adjacent to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
A King tide at San Onofre
Diane Edmonds
A King tide at San Onofre causes additional damage to the front seawall adjacent to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
Situated near Camp Pendleton, Interstate-5 (I-5) is the only way in or out for residents near SONGS. If an incident similar to the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear accident were to occur at SONGS, most, if not all, affected communities would be unable to escape. In an effort to avoid this outcome, the Samuel Lawrence Foundation, the leading nonprofit in the nationwide fight for the safe storage of nuclear waste, will present at a special December 9th Irvine City Council meeting, where a vote on funding a study to find a permanent solution to the stored waste at SONGS will take place.
For more information about making solving the nuclear waste issue a top national priority and why it should be, visit the Samuel Lawrence Foundation's website, donate, get involved in your own community, and make your voice heard in Congress.
Low tide erosion at Dog Patch
Diane Edmonds
Low tide erosion affects an area of Dog Patch that was once part of the parking lot at Old Man’s surf spot next to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).
Low tide erosion at Dog Patch
Diane Edmonds
Low tide erosion affects an area of Dog Patch that was once part of the parking lot at Old Man’s surf spot next to the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS).
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS)
Diane Edmonds
The nuclear waste canisters sit at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), as seen from Dog Patch beach..
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS)
Diane Edmonds
The nuclear waste canisters sit at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), as seen from Dog Patch beach..
