ˌThree Mile ˈIsland
a place in Pennsylvania in the US, where there was a serious accident in 1979 in a NUCLEAR POWER station (=a place where electricity is produced using nuclear energy). The people in charge managed to prevent a meltdown (= when the nuclear material melts and burns through its containers), but the accident increased opposition to nuclear power in the US and prevented new power stations from being built.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲