Middletown, Pennsylvania Remarks to Reporters Following a Visit to the Three Mile Island Nuclear Facility

My primary concern in coming here this afternoon has been to learn as much as I possibly can, as President, about the problems at the Three Mile Island nuclear Power plant and to assure the people, of this region that everything possible is being done and will be done to cope with these problems, both at the reactor and in the contingency planning for all eventualities that might occur in the future.

I want to commend Governor Thornburgh and other State and local officials for their leadership. And I would like to express my personal admiration and appreciation for the citizens of this area who, under the most difficult circumstances, have behaved in a calm and a responsible manner.

I would also like to express my thanks and admiration for the civilian and government personnel who continue to devote themselves without reservation to solving the problems at the reactor site.

The working relation among State, local, Federal, and private personnel has been excellent. And it's also been productive.

The primary and overriding concern for all of us is the health and the safety of the people of this entire area. As I've said before, if we make an error, all of us want to err on the side of extra precautions and extra safety.

I've learned that the radiation levels are being very carefully monitored throughout the area, and any trend toward higher levels would immediately be reported to me and to Governor Thornburgh and others. And every effort will be made to keep those radiation levels down to the present state, which is quite safe for all concerned.

The challenge in the future will be to cool down the reactor core itself to a safe level. And at the present time, all those who are involved here, who are highly qualified, tell me that the reactor core is indeed stable.

However, within the next few days, important decisions will be made on how to bring the reactor down to a cold and stable state. As always, in that transition period, careful preparations are being made, every eventuality is being assessed, and, above all, the health and safety of people involved will be paramount.

I would like to say to the people who live around the Three Mile Island plant that if it does become necessary, your Governor, Governor Thornburgh, will ask you and others in this area to take appropriate action to ensure your safety. If he does, I want to urge that these instructions be carried out calmly and exactly, as they have been in the past few days.

This will not indicate that danger is high. It will indicate that a change is being made in the operation of the cooling water system to permanently correct the present state of the reactor, and it's strictly a precautionary measure.

It's too early yet to make judgments about the lessons to be learned from this nuclear incident. Once the job of satisfactorily dealing with the present circumstances is completed, then there will be a thorough inquiry into the original causes and, obviously, into the events that have occurred since the incident, and additional safety precautions will undoubtedly be evolved. Perhaps some design changes will be implemented to make sure that there is no recurrence of this incident or one similar to it.

We will also do everything possible—I will be personally responsible for thoroughly informing the American people about this particular incident and the status of nuclear safety in the future.

I intend to make sure that the investigation is conducted, is conducted thoroughly, and the results are made public.

And now, I would like to have the honor of introducing a man who has done a superlative job in coordinating this entire effort. And because of the trust of the American people in him, and particularly those who live in this region, potential panic and disturbance has been minimized.

And I again want to congratulate you, Governor Thornburgh, and thank you on behalf of our country for doing such a superb job.

Thank you very much.