There's a hell of a lot of radiation Joe Fouchard, USNRC spokesman

Director of the County Civil Defence Organisation (CCDO) Les Jackson said they had drawn up an evacuation plan, but nearby residents have not been moved yet.

He described the scene at the large power station in the Susquehanna River as "a madhouse".

Spokesman for the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) Joe Fouchard said: "There's a hell of a lot of radiation in the reactor building."

A spokesman for Metropolitan Edison - one of the companies that runs Three Mile Island - said the nuclear reactor automatically shut down after the malfunction, but not before the leak.

According to a US Government report radiation has been detected a mile away, but the calm weather has helped contain the spread of the noxious fumes.

One of the nuclear engineer at the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, William Dornsife, said: "There was very little wind this morning, so the radioactivity shouldn't have gone very far."

"What small release there was will be confined to the local vicinity," he continued.

The emergency status will remain until there has been a thorough investigation by teams in anti-radiation suits.

The nuclear industry has been under increasing scrutiny in the US recently.

Five plants were closed down there just two weeks ago over fears of the effects of earthquakes on cooling towers.

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