In the late 1970s , development of nuclear power in the United States slowed to a halt , as new plants were cancelled or put on hold . The 1983 financial collapse of the Washington Public Power Supply System , a government agency planning to build five large nuclear power plants throughout the state , and the Three Mile Island accident of 1979 both contributed to a decline in interest in the university 's nuclear program . Student use of the reactor was replaced by commercial use to produce nuclear isotopes for medical use . By 1988 , the enrollment in UW 's nuclear engineering program had shrunk to 23 students , and the program was cancelled entirely in 1992
Three Mile Island accident
Three Mile Island accident
More Hall Annex