Neighbors vote to keep Pennsylvania A-plant shut

Residents of three counties near the damaged Three Mile Island nuclear power plant voted 2 to 1 against restarting the plant's undamaged Unit 1 reactor in a nonbinding referendum.

At the time of the 1979 accident in Unit 2, Unit 1 had already been shut off for routine maintenance. Since then it has been unused, in part because of corroded steam-generator tubes. The plant's owner, General Public Utilities Corporation, has argued it needs to restart Unit 1 to avoid bankruptcy.