Nuclear matters"Melt-through" at Fukushima nuclear plant

Published 9 June 2011

Japan has admitted that molten nuclear fuel in three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant has burned through pressure vessels, not just the reactors’ cores — creating a “melt-through,” which is a more serious problem than a melt down

This is what Jack Lemon was worried about in The China Syndrome: Molten nuclear fuel in three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant has burned through pressure vessels, not just the reactors’ cores, a new Japanese report said. The report also said Japan was unprepared for an accident of the severity of Fukushima. The Guardian reports that is the first time Japanese authorities have conceded that there was a possibility that the fuel suffered “melt-through” — a more serious problem than a core meltdown.