In March 1979 one of the worst nuclear accidents in the United States occurred at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. One of the nuclear reactors (Unit 2) at the plant had a partial meltdown and released small amounts of radioactive iodine and radioactive gases into the environment. After the accident, the operator of the plant, Metropolitan Edison Company, was ordered by the National Regulatory Commission (NRC) to keep the functioning reactor, Unit 1, shut down until it was determined that the plant could continue to operate safely. Initially, the NRC announced a notice of public hearing about the plant and encouraged comments on whether psychological harm should be considered in making a decision about the future operations of the plant. PANE (People Against Nuclear Energy)

stated that restarting the reactor would cause serious psychological damage to people living in the vicinity of the plant. When the NRC decided not to take into account the potential for psychological harm in its decision making, PANE filed a petition in court claiming that the NRC was required to take this information into account. Government regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) require an agency to evaluate the “environmental impact” and unavoidable “adverse environmental effects” of a proposed action. What do you think the court will take into account to reach a result in this dispute? As a policy matter do you think psychological issues should factor into environmental decision making?