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A meltdown is considered very serious because of the potential for radioactive materials to breach all containment and escape (or be released) into the environment, resulting in radioactive contamination and fallout, and potentially leading to radiation poisoning of people and animals nearby.

Why is a nuclear meltdown called a meltdown?

The term "nuclear meltdown" is commonly used by the public and by news media, but nuclear engineers usually refer to it as a core melt accident. A nuclear meltdown occurs when the middle portion of the nuclear reactor containing the fuel rods (its "core") is not properly cooled.

What is a power plant meltdown?

In a meltdown, the chain reaction is not controlled, and reactor fuel temperatures increase until they melt. In addition to the fuel rods melting, the heat passes to the water in the reactor; this generates high pressures.

How does a nuclear power plant have a meltdown?

Without enough water, the fuel rods get so hot that they melt. If they begin to melt the nuclear reactor core and the steel containment vessel, and release radiation into the environment, nuclear meltdown occurs.

What is a nuclear disaster Meaning?

An accident taking place in any nuclear facility of the nuclear fuel cycle including the nuclear reactor, or in a facility using radioactive sources, leading to a large-scale release of radioactivity in the environment.

Why did Chernobyl explode?

The Chernobyl accident in 1986 was the result of a flawed reactor design that was operated with inadequately trained personnel. The resulting steam explosion and fires released at least 5% of the radioactive reactor core into the environment, with the deposition of radioactive materials in many parts of Europe.

Can a nuclear meltdown go through the earth?

No, it would not burn a hole to the center of the earth. The movie “The China Syndrome,” which popularized that notion, was fiction. And whether a meltdown is an environmental disaster depends on a number of factors, including how extensive it is, and how well the nuclear power plant's safety features can contain it.

What happens when powerplants explode?

No immediate health effects would be expected in the general public from a nuclear power plant accident. That is because the amount of radiation present would be too small to cause immediate injury or illness. However, there is a risk of long-term health effects. Cancer may develop many years after the exposure.

Has the US ever had a nuclear meltdown?

The Three Mile Island Unit 2 reactor, near Middletown, Pa., partially melted down on March 28, 1979. This was the most serious accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant operating history, although its small radioactive releases had no detectable health effects on plant workers or the public.

How does a nuclear meltdown look like?

0:220:11How would a meltdown hapen? – YouTubeYouTube