Learning from elsewhere: Incidents at sites other than TMI have expanded the nuclear knowledge base and may help contribute to the solutions of new and old problems

Even if the 1979 Three Mile Island reactor accident had not occurred, the 1980s would probably still be a traumatic period for the nuclear power industry. After a surge of growth in the 1960s and 1970s, prompted by forecasts of swelling demand for electricity, the industry has been slowed - some would say stalled - by an unexpected downturn in consumer needs and a welter of problems in operating and building reactors.