partial meltdown
Reactor almost disaster
A partial meltdown is a nuclear reactor accident in which some but not all of the fuel rods overheat and melt, damaging the reactor core without complete destruction.
Three Mile Island in 1979 was a partial meltdown.
Figuratively, a partial meltdown describes someone losing composure without completely falling apart: I had a partial meltdown when I saw the bill, but I held it together.
- nuclearOf atomic energy
- nuclear accidentUncontrolled reactor failure
- reactorControlled fission apparatus
- reactor coreCentral fission zone
- ChernobylSoviet nuclear disaster site
radiation · radiation leak · core · containment · fuel · rods · cooling · cooling system · emergency · emergency response · safety protocols · Three Mile Island · disaster · breach · overheating · crisis · evacuation · exclusion zone
- Nuclear EventsChernobyl, Fukushima, Three Mile Island, nuclear incident, radiation leak
partial meltdownfull meltdown
Complete loss of control
China syndrome · near miss · containment failure · near-miss
partial, part, partially, partiality, parts, parted, parting, partake, partition