In the late 1960s to the 1980s the anti-nuclear movement shifted to protesting the development of nuclear power as an energy source. There were numerous protest groups from all walks of life such as the National Mobilisation for Survival, Dancers for Disarmament, Nurses for Non-Nuclear Future and Musicians United for Safe Energy.
Early morning on March 29, 1979 the worst accident in United States commercial nuclear history occurred (AP 1985). A nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania experience a partial nuclear core meltdown. Most people believe that the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident marked a turning point in public opinion towards nuclear power. This accident seemed to bring things of mere fiction to life. Twelve days before the TMI accident, a popular sci-fiction film, The China Syndrome was released. The film portrays the story of a television reporter and her cameraman who discover safety cover ups at a nuclear power plant. Coincidentally in one of the scene of the film physicist Dr. Elliott Lowell says that the China Syndrome or a nuclear meltdown would "[render] an area the size of Pennsylvania permanently uninhabitable." (McMullen 1995) With events in the film seeming so similar to the reports of the TMI accident the public was reeling. The threat of a nuclear reactor meltdown became all to real and rather threatening. This set into motion a number of protests and lawsuits against the TMI nuclear power plant and nuclear power in general.
Early morning on March 29, 1979 the worst accident in United States commercial nuclear history occurred (AP 1985). A nuclear power plant on Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania experience a partial nuclear core meltdown. Most people believe that the Three Mile Island (TMI) accident marked a turning point in public opinion towards nuclear power. This accident seemed to bring things of mere fiction to life. Twelve days before the TMI accident, a popular sci-fiction film, The China Syndrome was released. The film portrays the story of a television reporter and her cameraman who discover safety cover ups at a nuclear power plant. Coincidentally in one of the scene of the film physicist Dr. Elliott Lowell says that the China Syndrome or a nuclear meltdown would "[render] an area the size of Pennsylvania permanently uninhabitable." (McMullen 1995) With events in the film seeming so similar to the reports of the TMI accident the public was reeling. The threat of a nuclear reactor meltdown became all to real and rather threatening. This set into motion a number of protests and lawsuits against the TMI nuclear power plant and nuclear power in general.
In 1981, protesters issued a lawsuit against TMI which resulted in a $25 million settlement. Most of the money was used to found the TMI Public Health Fund (Smith 2012). TMI also prevented the US from constructing any new nuclear power plants in the US. On March 28, 1985 six years after TMI accident, Three Mile Island nuclear power plant was permanently shutdown.
One of the numerous anti-nuclear protest due TMI took place on September 23, 1979 in New York City. It was the largest anti-nuclear demonstration to date. It was held in conjunction with a series of nightly "No Nukes" concerts that were held in Madison Square Garden (Nuclear Heritage Network 2015). The "No Nukes" Concert was run by a new anti-nuclear group called the Musicians United for Safe Energy (MUSE). MUSE formed in 1979 shortly after the Three Mile Island accident. They held five No Nukes concerts in New York from September 19-23. Their goal was to raise money to fund anti-nuclear power groups. The final concert on September 23 also included a large rally stage by MUSE on the then-empty north end of the Battery Park City landfill in New York in which almost 200,000 people attended. Numerous artists performed at the concert including Jackson Browne, The Doobie Brothers, James Taylor and Gil Scott-Heron. |
Protestors at Battery Park, New York on September 23 1979 (Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest 1979)
|
(Scott-Heron 1979) Gil Scott Heron, one of the musicians at the "No Nukes" Concert released this song in the same year. The 'Shut 'Em Down' song reflected the rising sentiment of the anti-nuclear movement and gives us a glimpse of the protestors concerns and emotions towards nuclear power.