1-Cell Algae Thrived After TMI Accident

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — Workers at Three Mile Island have killed millions of one-celled organisms in Unit 2’s reactor water, removing an unexpected barrier to the crippled reactor’s cleanup, the nuclear plant’s operator said today.

A swimming pool filter, a pump and hydrogen peroxide were used to destroy the self-sustaining community of algae-like organisms that had thrived in the warm water around the damaged reactor despite high radioactivity, said GPU Nuclear Corp., operator of TMI.

Work to remove 154 tons of damaged nuclear fuel and debris should resume late next week, said GPU Nuclear spokesman Gordon Tomb. The defueling was suspended three weeks ago because the organisms had reduced visibility in the water to a few inches.

“The water was warmed by the lights we used to see what we were doing in the defueling. Combined with that, the organisms apparently liked some of the oil in the tools we used, and that added to their growth,” GPU Nuclear spokeswoman Lisa Robinson said.

“We continued to research and then decided that hydrogen peroxide might be a good chemical to use,” Tomb said. Workers added the chemical to the water and found that a combination of the hydrogen peroxide and the pump worked, Tomb said.