Short-term memories have no place in a state that faced a near nuclear disaster 10 years ago.

One decade after the accident at Three Mile Island power plant near Middletown, Pa., people -- especially college students with the knowledge to work toward change -- must not dismiss the incident as a mishap. Instead, they need to acknowledge the shortcomings and danger of this 20th century energy source and research alternatives.

The seven-day accident began when the plant automatically shut down because a pump stopped working. Pressure and temperature inside the plant built up and a valve opened to relieve the pressure and temperature. As temperature and pressure inside the reactor returned to normal, the valve should have closed. It remained open for two hours.

Two high-pressure pumps began flooding the system with cool water, but a plant operator misreading the warning signals turned off one pump and slowed down the other. Finally, the core collapsed and the uranium fuel rods partially melted, contaminating the system with radiation.

Technical and human error are inevitable in every industrialized system. But when working with nuclear energy, one mishap could cost the lives of thousands. Ten years ago threats of a meltdown and an explosive hydrogen bubble in the reactor core caused as many as 200,000 people living within 50 miles of the plant to flee the area and then-Gov. Richard Thornburgh advised pregnant women and children to evacuate.

Today, General Public Utilities, the owner of the TMI plant, is in the final stages of cleanup. Additionally, a new breed of nuclear reactors some consider much safer than the current breed and free from the possibility of a meltdown has been developed.

But while 10 years has allowed scientists in the field to work on preventative measures, perhaps they should consider that since the accident no new plants have been built in the United States and the damaged Unit 2 reactor at TMI will never function again.

At the Peachbottom Plant, near York, Pa., human error also has forced people to further question the possible dangers of utilizing nuclear energy.

The consequences of what may seem to some to be only isolated incidents hopefully will continue to reverberate throughout the industry and raise important questions to researchers.

Is nuclear energy worth the day-to day threats haunting people, especially those living near the plants? Could solar or other energy forms be better utilized?

At a top-10 engineering school where research is emphasized, University students are receiving the instruction necessary to investigate the feasibility of other energy forms to someday replace nuclear power.

Other forms, including solar or hydro-electric, are promising and less dangerous than nuclear energy. The need for these new sources becomes more pressing each day as we deplete our supply of fossil fuels.

The accident at TMI reminds us today that although we need to explore innovative ways to continue supplying energy to the country, nuclear energy may not be the safest way.