This work presents a record of how people living in the vicinity of the Three Mile Island power plant were affected by the nuclear accident on March 28, 1979. Over an 18-month period following the accident, 3,649 telephone interviews were conducted in order to assess the psychological, social, and economic effects of the incident, and these are presented here. The results of other investigators' studies of the TMI crisis, as well as of similar studies of other types of crises, are summarized.

Five major findings are detailed: First, evacuation was extensive and involved many more...