Nuclear meltdown derived from a 1967 report by a group of nuclear physicists, headed by W. K. Ergen. In the event, Lapp’s hypothetical nuclear accident was cinematically adapted as "The China Syndrome" (1979). Nuclear meltdown A nuclear meltdown (core melt accident or partial core melt) is a severe nuclear reactor accident that results in core damage from overheating. The term "nuclear meltdown" is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. However, it has been defined to mean the accidental melting of the core of a nuclear reactor, and is in common usage a reference
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (Unit 2 Reactor) severely. In the hours and days that followed, Reactors 1, 2 and 3 experienced full meltdown. In an attempt to halt a meltdown, the government ordered that seawater be used to cool the reactors, as no alternative was available at the time. Because of the delay in this process, meltdown progressed, depositing most of the melted fuel at the bottom of the reactor vessel. The heat and pressure of the melting reactors, caused a reaction between the nuclear fuel metal cladding and the remaining water producing explosive hydrogen gas. As workers struggled to cool and shut down the reactors, several