The Nation - News from Feb. 22, 1985

Some nuclear fuel melted in the reactor core during the 1979 accident at Three Mile Island, scientists disclosed in Middletown, Pa. Recent studies of rubble taken from the core show that temperatures reached about 5,100 degrees Fahrenheit, said Harold Burton, TMI project manager for EG&G; Idaho. Previous examinations had indicated a maximum temperature of 4,700 degrees. But Burton and officials for GPU Nuclear Corp., TMI’s operator, said melted fuel does not mean that the plant was close to a meltdown, which could have released dangerous radiation outside the plant, because the building containing the reactor is intact.