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Old 10-15-2001, 12:32 PM   #14
russotto
Professor
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,788
Quote:
Originally posted by Undertoad
There wouldn't be a plume though. A nuclear plant can't act like a nuclear bomb; I forget why. But the worst case is the meltdown, where the rods that control chain reactions can't be inserted back into the core. In such a case the generated heat gets so hot that it melts everything until it sinks right into the ground.
The plume in a worst-case nuclear meltdown is of radioactive steam and other material.
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