Veterinarian
Interviewed October and November, 1982

[The following is compiled from excerpts of interviews by Smith/ Katagiri on October 26, 1982,PUC oral testimony, and also from “The People of Three Mile Island” by Robert Del Tredici, Sierra Club Books, 1980.]

The evidence of trouble came out in sows and sheep and goats when the Three Mile Island thing came to a head. The period in which the following problems occurred was the birthing season of 1979, 1980 and into 1981. We were having stillbirths. Many. In sheep, goats and pigs. This problem spread over about fifteen miles. The fifteen-mile area included a circle north to North Mountain [to Wentzville Road], west almost to Carlisle, and south around to Dover. Continue reading Robert Weber, Mechanicsburg →

Farmer
Interviewed: August 12, 1986

After the TMI accident, Marie was treated for thyroid problems. She was subsequently diagnosed for cancer and has since had several operations and is currently receiving chemotherapy. She lives with her two sisters and brother. The Holowka’s have had many animal problems on their farm since the time TMI began operation in 1974. Here Marie talks about the morning of the accident. [The distance from the milk house to the house is a little over 100 feet.] Continue reading Marie Holowka, Zion’s View →

Age: late 40’s
Interviewed: August 2, 1988

Ella was owner of Gladfelter’s Store in Zion’s View at the time of the TMI accident.

When that thing happened, the firemen went through and announced that we were to stay indoors, keep the doors and windows closed. My daughter, Theresa [age 14] had just had a tonsillectomy and she was home from school. My brother and his wife were getting out of the area, so they took her with them. They went up to Sunbury. I thought my husband’s health went downhill afterward. He had what they called fibrosis of the lung. I don’t know how to explain how he deteriorated after this Three Mile Island thing. Continue reading Ella Gladfelter, York →

Dairy farmers
Interviewed: February 21, 1983

The Hoovers had many problems with their cows and their own health after the accident. This excerpt is limited to the powdery substance they saw on Friday, March 30th, and the taste they had in their mouths when they returned to feed their farm animals on Saturday, March 31st.
Clair was also a part-time truck driver, and Ruth worked in a restaurant in Bainbridge part-time.
Continue reading Clair and Ruth Hoover, Bainbridge →

Shell gas station owner
Interviewed: August 16, 1988

Six-thirty Wednesday morning, I knew about the accident. Long before [it was on] some of the radio or in the newspapers. One of the guys that worked on the island went to work and they turned him around and told him to go home. He said, “What’s going on?” and they said, “There was a bad radiation leak sometime last night. And we’re not allowing anybody on the island.” They said, “If we need ya, we’ll call ya.” Continue reading Jim Gutshall, Bainbridge →