March 28, 2022, marked the 43rd anniversary of the worst commercial nuclear power plant accident in the history of the United States.  Along with it went the dreams that many in the nuclear industry had for it.  And eventually the great promise it held for our country diminished as the years passed.  The accident, involving a partial meltdown of the nuclear core at the Three Mile Island Unit 2 Nuclear Power Plant, has faded from the memories of most Americans, but for those in the industry (like me), it will never be forgotten.

At the time, I  felt I had a tremendous future ahead of me in a job with almost endless possibilities.  All that came to a screeching halt when the safety systems were overridden by the Operators at TMI-2 that fateful day.  I responded to the event and became intimately involved in implementing many of the lessons learned from it at several other nuclear plants around the country.  The job I had which involved the construction of two new nuclear plants ended when these any many other new nuclear plants around the country, and even the world, were cancelled.  My book, Happiness is a Cool Reactor, is a somewhat autobiography of my life in the nuclear industry as well as a detailed account of the TMI-2 accident and its aftereffects.

This year, I will be publishing a second edition of my book, with updates and additions that show that despite the adverse feelings about nuclear power, it still is an important and vital source of energy for the future of the human race.  I hope you get a chance to read it.  It is a non-fiction account of aspects of the nuclear power program over the last several decades, and is both educational and entertaining.  The updated version of “Happiness is a Cool Reactor” can be obtained on Amazon’s website.