III. Management faces the facts: Damaging accidents are possible

The accident at TMI and its aftermath has hit most utility managers like a bucket of ice water in the face. Many were roused from a complacency that had led them to believe that serious accidents just could not happen. The NRC had required so many safeguards, they felt, that their plants were foolproof. Two years later, there is a growing awareness that accidents can indeed happen, that utilities cannot rely on the NRC to ensure safety, and that utilities must develop their own expertise to cope with emergencies.