10/12 early: AWACS coverage

[russotto]

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.