[JSteff]

When TMI went bad (and it was much worse than the told the public) they did have a melt down. All these years I have lived within 5 to 10 miles of TMI.

My wife lived in a farm house about 1 mile away (to the east of the reactor). She has had stage 3 thyroid cancer and went through massive surgery. Treatments for it continue. Last week she was diagnosed with Barret's syndrome which is a precursor to esophageal cancer.

She still does not claim or blame it on TMI and the closeness to it where she lived. TMI also had a number of "venting" episodes cause it got to hot and the water around the reactor was building up steam. Later they found it could have blown the top off the containment vessel or cracked it wide open.... but it didn't.

The bottom of the containment vessel did melt and penetrate the bed rock beneath the vessel.

So besides Chernobyl the world has seen a melt down or three before .....

[dynoman]

“The bottom of the containment vessel did melt and penetrate the bed rock beneath the vessel. “

Do you have a source for that?? Thanks.

[mvpel]

The bottom of the containment vessel did melt and penetrate the bed rock beneath the vessel.

I suspect you're thinking of the movie "The China Syndrome," not anything having to do with actual physics or reality. Adequate cooling was restored to the TMI core by the evening of the same day of the accident.

Here's the extent of the core melting and damage as estimated by INL scientists following video inspection:

No breach of the containment vessel. None. Let alone the "bedrock below."