Agent86Which part of my post did you not understand. A...

Agent86

Which part of my post did you not understand. A 'meltdown' is very possible at Dai ichi but a 'Chernobyl' is unlikely.

A meltdown doesn't necessarily mean an explosion will occur. It just means the reactor core has either partially or completely melted resulting in the release of radiation. If the containment unit holds, no radiation will escape like in 3 mile island.

A meltdown will and can occur if they are unable to successfully cool down the reactor core with seawater. It is not easy to pump seawater into the reactor as it is highly pressurised (like trying to pump water into a fully inflated balloon). If they can't pump enough water in and the cores are exposed, they will overheat and a meltdown occurs. Comprehendo??!?!

The operators of the reactor TEPCO have already announced that there have been instances where the cores were left exposed a number of times and that is why the news is IMO correctly reporting that a (partial) meltdown is likely to have already occured.

You can apologise once you finally understand my post. Probably means i'll never get an apology.