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
Tokaimura nuclear accident Tokaimura nuclear accident There have been two Tokaimura nuclear accidents at the nuclear facility at Tōkai, Ibaraki: on 11 March 1997, an explosion occurred in a Dōnen plant, and on 30 September 1999, a serious criticality accident happened in a JCO plant. The first Tokaimura nuclear accident was the accident which occurred on 11 March 1997, in a nuclear reprocessing plant of the Dōnen (Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation). Another name is the . On the night of Tuesday 11 March 1997, a small explosion occurred in a nuclear reprocessing plant of the Dōnen. Windows were smashed and