Carol and Tom
I and my girlfriend Carol were sophomores at Lebanon Valley College, Annville PA when the TMI incident occurred. We were within the 15 mile radius. As updates continued, a general unrest and distraction occurred on campus. Other neighboring colleges, like Franklin and Marshall announced closures, but LVC had not. I recall calling my step-brother who had engineered and built a sister nuclear plant similar in design to TMI to ask if this was a problem and remember not receiving complete reassurance. I had a very important Anatomy and Physiology test scheduled and was not able to concentrate on studying. I was among several students who called the President of the University to request closure, and LVC closed the night before my test. Carol and I packed up and went home to Chambersburg for about a week.
The TMI incident focused the energy needed to achieve my physician and our family goals.
I studied and when classes resumed, I achieved the highest grade in the class on the biology test and subsequently received the only A for the semester. I continued my pre-med preparation and was accepted to Jefferson Medical College and subsequently completed OB/GYN residency at PSU-Hershey.
Carol and I married in 1981, have four children, three of whom enrolled at LVC, and I continue to practice in Chambersburg. The TMI incident focused the energy needed to achieve my physician and our family goals.
I never encountered radiation fallout consequences in clinical practice related to the TMI reactor meltdown. I don’t recall any real time panic as the problem evolved. Updates on the evolving situation seemed trustworthy. There seemed to be a sense of trust in the containment success. I remember that few of us really cared about the China Syndrome movie and I don’t recall if it came before or after TMI.
Thomas Orndorf, MD