Three Mile Island, PA (click to enlarge) from radiation scott
"The China Syndrome is a hypothesis of a possible extreme result of a nuclear meltdown in which molten reactor core products breach the barriers below them and flow downwards through the floor of the containment building. The origin of the phrase is the concept that molten material from an American reactor may melt through the crust of the Earth and reach China."
A couple of weekends ago I watched the 1979 film, China Syndrome, which eerily came out just 12 days before the accident at Three Mile Island. I can't help but assume that the convergence of the two helped deter the growth of the nuclear power in the United States. It seems that it is time for more people to take this film and its message in again. Watching it was a dramatic reminder that nuclear power is, and always has been, a technology that requires such absolute and total control, something we humans are not always able to provide.
A couple of weekends ago I watched the 1979 film, China Syndrome, which eerily came out just 12 days before the accident at Three Mile Island. I can't help but assume that the convergence of the two helped deter the growth of the nuclear power in the United States. It seems that it is time for more people to take this film and its message in again. Watching it was a dramatic reminder that nuclear power is, and always has been, a technology that requires such absolute and total control, something we humans are not always able to provide.
[update]**BIG RED FLAG: As of 2005, no nuclear plant had been ordered without subsequent cancellation for over twenty years. BUT, as of April 2008, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expecting 23 COL applications for a total of 34 new plants. -from wikipedia
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