Study says no uranium melted in '79 A-mishap

July 23, 1982

Three Mile Island officials said Thursday a camera inspection revealed no evidence that uranium fuel melted during a 1979 accident at the nuclear plant, although the test showed the center of the core was reduced to ''a bed of rubble.''

Robert Arnold, president of General Public Utilities Nuclear Corporation, the plant's operator, said he based his opinion on evidence that core temperatures were not high enough during the accident to cause the fuel to melt. The rubble resulted from the breaking up of the fuel casing, he said, adding that the inspection verifies the damage estimates given by several post-accident studies.