containment failure
Seal has broken
A containment failure occurs when something meant to be held within boundaries escapes or breaks through.
The term appears most often in nuclear contexts, where reactor containment prevents radioactive material from reaching the environment: The meltdown led to a containment failure.
It extends to any system designed to keep dangerous substances or situations under control—biological agents, chemical spills, or even information: The leak represented a containment failure for the administration.
- breachBreaking of agreement
- leakEscape through a breach
- ruptureViolent tearing apart
- spillAccidental liquid release
- core meltdownReactor fuel overheats catastrophically
meltdown · radiation · exclusion zone · hazmat · hazmat suit · reactor · nuclear · chain reaction · overflow · seal · pressure · pressure buildup · disaster · evacuation · toxic · explosion · quarantine · biohazard
containment failurestructural integrity
Wholeness under load
holding · containment · hermetic seal · airtight seal · hull integrity
contain, containment, container, containers, contained, containing, contains, containable, fail