What happens if nuclear meltdown occurs

What happens when there is a nuclear power plant accident? How am I protected from a nuclear power plant accident? Nuclear power plants are designed with many systems to help prevent radioactive materials from being released into the environment. For example, reactors in the United States are built inside of concrete buildings designed to contain radioactive material that could be released in an accident. State and local governments, with the support of the federal government and the power companies, have emergency plans for nuclear power plant accidents and routinely test their ability to protect people.

In addition, to prevent terrorism, nuclear power plans have special security measures in place to limit access only to authorized people. What are the health effects of a nuclear power plant accident? How do I prepare for a nuclear power plant accident?

Those living within 10 miles of a nuclear power plant should know their designated evacuation zones and routes. Power companies publish this information in telephone books and calendars. For more information, contact your local library or emergency management agency. If you have a disability and require special assistance for evacuation during an emergency, contact your local emergency management or social services agency to ensure that plans are in place to assist you.

Keep a working radio with spare batteries available. Sirens are located in residential areas near nuclear power plants. Know when the sirens will be tested. Know which radio station to listen to when the sirens sound. In Virginia, people living or working within a 10 mile area of a nuclear power plant will be provided potassium iodide KI for protection from radioactive iodine. When lava has low viscosity, it can flow very easily as demonstrated by stalactites hanging from valves and tubes in the destroyed reactor core.

Corium lava flowing out a safety valve within the Chernobyl plant. Four hundred miners were brought to Chernobyl to dig a tunnel underneath. It was feared that the radioactive lava would burn through the containment structure and contaminate the groundwater.

Only later it was discovered that the lava flow stopped after 3 meters 9 feet. About eight months after the incident and with the help of a remotely operated camera, the solidified lava was discovered in the ruins of the reactor building. In , radioactivity levels were low enough to visit the reactor's basement and took some photographs. The photos are blurry due to radiation damage.

The lava-like material resulting from a nuclear meltdown is also named corium , after the core of the reactor. An unknown uranium-zirconium-silicate found in the corium of Chernobyl was named later chernobylite. Chernobylite is highly radioactive due to its high uranium content and contamination by fission products. The 41 second clock failure syndrome Nov 02, Hydraulic Liftgate Nov 01, Related Stories. Japan worst-case scenario unlikely to cause catastrophic radiation release: expert Mar 17, Mar 15, Mar 17, Purdue engineers create safer, more efficient nuclear fuel, model its performance Sep 28, Dec 11, Dec 30, Recommended for you.

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