Steam Tube Degradation Is Increasingly Likely to Cause a Meltdown Part II)

How a pressurized water nuclear reactor works - part I

How a pressurized water nuclear reactor works - part II

Northern States Power sues Westinghouse over faulty tubes

Problems with Steam Generator Tubes (Part I)

Problems with Steam Generator Tubes (Part II)

A nightmare confirmed: steam tube degradation is increasingly likely
to cause a nuclear meltdown (Part I)

A nightmare confirmed: steam tube degradation is increasingly likely
to cause a nuclear meltdown (Part II)

Chernobyl to Prairie Island - We are all in the zone (Part I)

Chernobyl to Prairie Island - We are all in the zone (Part II)

Prairie Island routinely emits radioactivity into the environment

A little lesson on radioactivity: how it affects the human body

The difference between high-level and low-level radiation exposure

The effects of low-level radiation exposure

Dry cask storage: problems guaranteed, and problems unknown

Yucca Mountain, Nevada: not a good place for nuclear waste

Transporting the waste: how safe can 45,000 shipments be?

Most mining and milling of uranium occurs on Indian lands

People of color are also targeted for other uranium processing facilities

Nuclear waste dumps - guess where they want to put them

Anything is cheap if you don't pay the cost

Broken Reactor Components
A nightmare confirmed:
Steam tube degradation is increasingly likely to cause a nuclear meltdown
Part II - what would occur in a meltdown

During a cascading tube rupture, radioactive primary water will flash into steam in the secondary water loop.
	Steam-line pressure relief valves outside the containment vessel will open, and vent radioactive steam to the atmosphere.
As primary water hemorrhages into the secondary loop, primary water pressure will drop. This will cause water in the core to boil. Steam pressure inside the core will force water out, and the core, no longer cooled by water, will melt.
	Molten fuel will collect at the bottom of the reactor vessel and melt down through the floor and into the ground beneath. This has been called the China Syndrome.
	During a meltdown, it is virtually certain that molten fuel will contact groundwater under the plant. Resulting steam explosions will spread radioactive fuel particles throughout a wide area. Millions of people could be contaminated.