TMI generator moving to NC after 3 decades

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) — A massive turbine generator from the Three Mile Island unit that partially melted down in 1979 is scheduled to begin its journey to a new plant in North Carolina.

Pennsylvania State Police say the 465-ton generator will set out from Middletown around 8 a.m. Thursday destined for the Progress Energy-owned Harris Nuclear Plant near New Hill, North Carolina.

The generator has been in storage since the accident. Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials say it was not contaminated in the 1979 accident.

Officials for the company moving the generator say it will take about four days to transport the 250-foot behemoth to Havre De Grace, Md. It will then travel by barge to Virginia and then by heavy duty rail car to North Carolina.