It was supposed to provide energy "too cheap to meter," but nuclear power has never realized its potential. One reason is the nuclear accident that occurred in March, 1979, at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pa. Only days after the opening of The China Syndrome, a film with Jane Fonda about safety hazards at a nuclear power plant, a series of problems led to overheating at one of Three Mile Island's two nuclear power reactors. Radiation began leaking from the plant, and some residents in the surrounding area were evacuated. Reporters, wearing radiation-detection badges, converged on the scene. It was the nation's worst nuclear power plant accident. And the industry suffered a blow from which it has never recovered.