The nuclear crisis in Japan hits home for people living near Three Mile Island, home of the worst nuclear incident in the United States.

"What's happening in Japan has brought back a lot of memories," said Robert Reid, the mayor of Middletown, Pa. "But we're much better prepared now than we were in 1979."

Ever since the country's worst nuclear crisis 32 years ago this week, Three Mile Island has stood as a touchstone for anti-nuclear activists and an example for regulators of the growing safety restrictions. The crisis there started with a venting of steam, then escalated to a partial meltdown. But it was caused by a simple mechanical problem and the containment vessel was never breached. Still, the incident was ongoing until 1993, when the last of the flooded water evaporated.

Already, there are signs that Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant could be facing a worse situation. On Friday, Japan's nuclear agency raised the severity of the crisis to Level 5, the same level the United States used to classify Three Mile Island. Victor Gilinsky, commissioner of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during the Three Mile Island crisis, said he feared there would be much more extensive damage inside Japan's reactors, where he said it was likely there was already a meltdown.

The nearby residents say their site may hold more lessons for what Japan faces in the cleanup process. The Three Mile Island response and recovery cost $1 billion and required the creation of robots to enter the plant.

Middletown has about 10,000 residents today, although many who left during the crisis never returned. Those who stayed have grown used to the plant's regular tests of its emergency systems, and the constant danger of the plant. Deb Fulmer, who evacuated with her 4-week-old baby in 1979, said she is much more comfortable now than she was before the accident.

"The fear comes from not having a plan when something happens, for what to do, where to go, what the sirens mean," Fulmer said. "Now we know" (Morello/Mufson, Washington Post, March 19). -- JP