Some events make only small ripples; others make larger ones.
The challenge is to discover characteristics associated with an event
and the way that it is managed that can predict the breadth and
seriousness of those impacts (Fig. 3). Early theories equated the
magnitude of impact to the number of people killed or injured, or to
the amount of property damaged. However, the accident at the
Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear reactor in 1979 provides a
dramatic demonstration that factors besides injury, death, and
property damage impose serious costs. Despite the fact that not a
single person died, and few if any latent cancer fatalities are
expected, no other accident in our history has produced such costly
societal impacts. The accident at TMI devastated the utility that
owned and operated the plant. It also imposed enormous costs (27)
on the nuclear industry and on society, through stricter regulation
(resulting in increased construction and operation costs),