The site of the country's worst commercial nuclear power accident is expected to shutdown.

The owner of Three Mile Island said it is almost certain the company will not get a financial rescue from the State of Pennsylvania and will have to proceed with a planned shutdown.

Excelon Corporation has been rescued financially in three other states, but legislation in Pennsylvania has stalled.

That measure would provide some $500 million for Three Mile Island and four other nuclear power plants in the state.

The news of the shutdown comes just six weeks after the accident's 40th anniversary.

In 1979, there was a partial meltdown at Three Mile Island, which began with a failure in a non-nuclear part of the plant.

A chain of events caused a reactor to automatically shut down. Due to instrument malfunctions, workers took actions that uncovered the core, which then overheated.