Steam explosion major cause of human fatalities in volcanic eruptions. The 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Soviet Union was feared to cause major steam explosion (and resulting Europe-wide fallout) upon melting the lava-like nuclear fuel through the reactor's basement towards contact with residue fire-fighting water and groundwater. The threat was averted by frantic tunneling underneath the reactor in order to pump out water and reinforce underlying soil with concrete. When a pressurized container such as the waterside of a steam boiler ruptures, it is always followed by some degree of steam explosion. A common operating temperature and pressure for a marine boiler
Nuclear weapons and Ukraine The study argues that the push for Ukrainian independence was with a view to make it a nonnuclear state. The United States would also not have made Ukraine an exception when it came to the denuclearization of other post-Soviet states such as Belarus and Kazakhstan. The deterrent value of the nuclear weapons in Ukraine was also questionable, as Ukraine would have had to spend 12 to 18 months to establish full operational control over the nuclear arsenal left by the Russians. The ICBMs also had a range of 5.000-10.000 km (initially targeting the United States), which meant that they could