The March 1979 release was met with backlash from the nuclear power industry 's claims of it being " sheer fiction " and a " character assassination of an entire industry . " Twelve days later , the Three Mile Island nuclear accident occurred in Dauphin County , Pennsylvania . While some credit the accident 's timing in helping to sell tickets , the studio attempted to avoid appearing as if they were exploiting the accident , which included pulling the film from some theaters
Three Mile Island nuclear accident
Three Mile Island accident
The China Syndrome