This is closer to what happened at Three-Mile Island than Chernobla. Three-Mile Island lost containment when the rods melted a hole in the containment vessel. The Secondary Vessel contained most of the radiation. Problem with the Japanese reactors is they have lost the secondary containment structure. WHEN the core melts through the primary vessel then the high level radiation will not be contained. It the China Syndrome or in this case the North American Syndrome. If the super heated core makes its way in contact with a large pool of ground water then you will get a big bang. This is not cool
