Three Mile Island Nuclear Meltdown Essay
SECTION 1
The Three Mile Island Nuclear Meltdown and the Possible Health Effects of its Children Problem
From the nuclear disaster of Chernobyl in April of 1986, the medical world has learned much about the possible effects of radioactive materials being exposed to humans, specifically the pediatric population. Through this disaster, we learned that children and fetuses exposed to radio-nucleotides were susceptible to central nervous system dysfunction leading to microcephaly and retardation, congenital malformations, and cancers, including thyroid cancer and leukemias (Chudley, 2010). The single most prevalent part of a child’s body affected by radioactivity is the thyroid. The thyroid gland is known to collect iodine in the body leaving children more susceptible to radioactive iodine exposure “…because of the size of their thyroid glands and the nature of their metabolism” [World Health Organization(WHO), 2015]. Location (Population)
The Three Mile Island (TMI) in Pennsylvania is a largely rural, agricultural region surrounded by three medium-sized urban areas; Harrisburg, York, and Lancaster which is a largely Amish community (ThreeMileIsland.org, n.d.). Of this community, at the time of the meltdown, there were 2 million people living in the TMI area (Selway, 2008). Of these 2 million people, around 140,000 …show more content…
Those most affected by the exposure to the radioactive materials include the children, specifically the girls under the age of 1 year at the time of exposure (WHO, 2015). These children have the highest chance at thyroid disorders, including cancer. The prevalence of health effects of the nuclear meltdown will continually decrease over time. So far, there have been several studies conducted to observe the possible health effects of those exposed to the nuclear materials and no deaths or injuries that are tied back to the
The Three Mile Island Nuclear Meltdown and the Possible Health Effects of its Children Problem
From the nuclear disaster of Chernobyl in April of 1986, the medical world has learned much about the possible effects of radioactive materials being exposed to humans, specifically the pediatric population. Through this disaster, we learned that children and fetuses exposed to radio-nucleotides were susceptible to central nervous system dysfunction leading to microcephaly and retardation, congenital malformations, and cancers, including thyroid cancer and leukemias (Chudley, 2010). The single most prevalent part of a child’s body affected by radioactivity is the thyroid. The thyroid gland is known to collect iodine in the body leaving children more susceptible to radioactive iodine exposure “…because of the size of their thyroid glands and the nature of their metabolism” [World Health Organization(WHO), 2015]. Location (Population)
The Three Mile Island (TMI) in Pennsylvania is a largely rural, agricultural region surrounded by three medium-sized urban areas; Harrisburg, York, and Lancaster which is a largely Amish community (ThreeMileIsland.org, n.d.). Of this community, at the time of the meltdown, there were 2 million people living in the TMI area (Selway, 2008). Of these 2 million people, around 140,000 …show more content…
Those most affected by the exposure to the radioactive materials include the children, specifically the girls under the age of 1 year at the time of exposure (WHO, 2015). These children have the highest chance at thyroid disorders, including cancer. The prevalence of health effects of the nuclear meltdown will continually decrease over time. So far, there have been several studies conducted to observe the possible health effects of those exposed to the nuclear materials and no deaths or injuries that are tied back to the