Did The Three Mile Island Meltdown Cause Any Deaths?

The Three Mile Island nuclear power plant was in operation for a bit more than a year when the accident happened. At that time, commercial nuclear energy was thought by some to be the way of the future, per International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The response to Three Mile Island played a part in curbing its spread. Once the dire issue at Three Mile Island was found out, it was thought early on that all local residents needed to do to be safe was shut their doors and windows and stay inside. Gradually though, the scale of the potential disaster became clear and many nearby areas were evacuated, according to PennLive.

Once the issue was deemed under control, an investigation revealed just what had happened. Not only had half the reactor core melted down, ionized radiation was released into the air, and large amounts of uranium were compromised. According to the official report, radiation exposure was deemed no more than an average x-ray, and in the immediate aftermath of the accident nobody was killed. In the intervening years since it happened, though, there is ample anecdotal evidence that serious negative health problems for the local population have cropped up, possibly leading to death in some cases.