Some Social and Political Dimensions of Nuclear Power: Examples from Three Mile Island

Public concerns about the social and political implications of energy choices have found expression in the nuclear debate. The Three Mile Island accident, in its complexity and far-reaching consequences, served to focus criticism of nuclear power that had been building up for a decade. It revealed with striking clarity that technology is a social concept to be understood in terms of social and political relationships if it is to be brought under public control. The ramifications of the accident revealed the conceptual difficulties of assessing social risks and the political difficulties in managing them. This article draws examples from the Three Mile Island accident to review several characteristics of nuclear technology, its scale and costs, its complexity, its uncertain and unpredictable physical effects, and its indirect risks. It then explores the implications for social, political and administrative institutions as they grope for ways to manage the risks of nuclear power in the context of critical public scrutiny. Finally it identifies a range of issues calling for policy research.