MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — Richard Lesh from Hamilton Township was 41 years old when he was sent to Three Mile Island near Harrisburg back in 1979.
"To go through something like that, it's going to be with you for the rest of your life," said Richard Lesh, Hamilton Township.
He was one of the first people that Met-Ed sent in to examine the reactor and see how bad the damage and radiation were after the nuclear accident.
He's published books about his experience.
"I stood there and I'm sweating and I'm saying to this thing, you scared a lot of people. I had my hand on it and thought what the hell am I doing," said Richard Lesh, Hamilton Township.
Netflix is shining a light on this moment in history, releasing a new documentary called Meltdown: Three Mile Island.
The four-part series goes into events, controversies, and effects the accident had at the nuclear power plant in Middletown.
The documentary tells the story of whistleblower Richard Parks, a former chief engineer at the plant.
"Not only is this whistleblower making noise about what was transpiring. This was happening, this happening. This is hiding this fact and he's probably right 100%. He was tech, up there high in the penthouse and I was down here in the basement," said Lesh.
A malfunctioning valve set off a chain reaction leading to the reactor partially melting down.
It released radioactive gases into the atmosphere.
The nuclear accident forced evacuations near Harrisburg and spread fear across the state.
Newswatch 16's Mike Stevens was sent to Harrisburg back then.
His assignment was to talk with those living close to the radiation.
"I can tell you this; there's a lot more to that island than meets the eye. There's a lot that was covered up. Now I don't know much about this Netflix, I'm not broadcasting it or saying it's correct. I don't know anything but in my opinion, he's on the right track," said Lesh.
Lesh admits to Newswatch 16 that he hasn't watched the series yet, but he has read up on it.
Meltdown: Three Mile Island is available to stream on Netflix.
Check out WNEP’s YouTube page.