In March 1979, I was 27 years old living in York Springs, PA with my wife and our 2 month old son. When we learned on the news that there was an incident at The Three Mile Island nuclear plant possibly leaking radiation we contacted relatives in Richmond, Virginia who invited us to stay with them.
The radio and television stations announced that infants might be at more risk than adults in relation to the radiation leaks. There were contrasting opinions as to the severity of the incident as demonstrated by my neighbor who was mowing his lawn as we pulled out of our driveway in our packed minivan.
mowing his lawn as we pulled out of our driveway in our packed minivan.
On Rt. 95 south of Washington D.C., we passed a vehicle with a sign in the rear window stating “Refugees from Middletown, Pa.”
We spent 5 surreal days in Richmond as it was business as usual there while we were living in angst not knowing if we would be able to come home again. I am not sure if many people realized the significance of the event had the reactor experienced a complete meltdown.
Tim