The China Syndrome: Nuclear Meltdown
The China Syndrome
The China Syndrome was a movie made in 1979 about the terrifying possibility of a nuclear meltdown. Without enough water to cool the fuel rods, the superheated fuel melted through the steel floor of the nuclear reactor, and melted through the Earth’s crust until it reached the groundwater several miles below. The uranium cooled but the water became radioactive, and the drinking water was poisoned. The China syndrome is not plausible because there would still be enough water left at the bottom of the nuclear reactor to cool the fuel rods and the uranium, and it would not be possible of the molten materials to melt through the 8 inches of steel at the bottom.
A similar, less extreme version happened in Japan recently. The
The China Syndrome was a movie made in 1979 about the terrifying possibility of a nuclear meltdown. Without enough water to cool the fuel rods, the superheated fuel melted through the steel floor of the nuclear reactor, and melted through the Earth’s crust until it reached the groundwater several miles below. The uranium cooled but the water became radioactive, and the drinking water was poisoned. The China syndrome is not plausible because there would still be enough water left at the bottom of the nuclear reactor to cool the fuel rods and the uranium, and it would not be possible of the molten materials to melt through the 8 inches of steel at the bottom.
A similar, less extreme version happened in Japan recently. The