In the immediate aftermath of the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Dauphin County, reporters, government officials and the general public were trying to make sense of inconsistent information.
“We’re getting conflicting reports too,” Gov. Dick Thornburgh said in response to a reporter’s question at a press conference March 30, two days after the accident. “What we’re trying to do is give you our best estimate of what the accurate facts are.”
The governor was joined at this press conference by Lt. Gov. William Scranton III, press secretary Paul Critchlow and Thomas M. Gerusky, director of the Bureau of Radiation Protection at what was then known as the Department of Environmental Resources.
Watch this WITF archival footage: