Re:Fukushima Reactor 1 melted down, 2 and 3 may have too
by nl on Tuesday May 17, 2011 @01:12AM
(#2555353)
Given that nuclear engineers don't agree what "meltdown" means [1] I don't think this is surprising.
[1] The term is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the U.S. 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 to the core's either complete or partial collapse. "Core melt accident" and "partial core melt" are the analogous technical terms.
[1] The term is not officially defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency or by the U.S. 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 to the core's either complete or partial collapse. "Core melt accident" and "partial core melt" are the analogous technical terms.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_meltdown