Language: en
Meaning: (idiomatic,nuclear physics,uncountable)Ahypotheticalkind ofcatastrophicfailurein which anuclear reactormeltsthrough the floor of itscontainmentsystem and (if onland)penetratestheEarth'ssurface, continuing downward as if (from aWestern Hemisphericpoint of view)travelingthrough theplanettowardChina.1971December 12,Ralph E. Lapp, “Thoughts on Nuclear Plumbing.”, inThe New York Times[1],→ISSN, pageE11:The Ergen report contains an analysis showing that the high-temperature mass would sink into the earth and grow in size for about two years.[…]This behavior projection is known as theChina syndrome.1979,Mike Gray,T. S. Cook,James Bridges,The China Syndrome:Dr. Lowell: If that's true, we came very close to theChina Syndrome.Kimberly Wells: The what?Dr. Lowell: If the core is exposed for whatever reason, the fuel heats beyond core heat tolerance in a matter of minutes. Nothing can stop it. And it melts down right through the bottom of the plant, theoretically to China. But of course, as soon as it hits ground water, it blasts into the atmosphere and sends out clouds of radioactivity.2002September 20, Douglas M. Chapin, Karl P. Cohen, W. Kenneth Davis, Edwin E. Kintner, Leonard J. Koch, “Nuclear Power Plants and Their Fuel as Terrorist Targets”, inScience[2], volume297, number5589,→DOI,→ISSN, pages1997–1999:The molten mass did not even fully penetrate the 0.5-cm cladding, confirming tests in Karlsruhe, Germany, and in Idaho, that the "China syndrome" is not a credible possibility.; (idiomatic,nuclear physics,countable)A specific instance of this type of failure.1983, Dorothy S. Zinberg, chapter I, inUncertain Power: The Struggle for a National Energy Policy[3],→ISBN, page43:The report judged the risks of catastrophic nuclear power plant accidents (known as core meltdowns orChina syndromes) to be socially acceptable.1984,Tom Clancy, “The Thirteenth Day: Wednesday, 15 December”, inThe Hunt for Red October, Annapolis, Maryland:Naval Institute Press,→ISBN, pages303–304:Ames maneuvered theAvalonaround theAlfa's bow, working the directional propeller carefully and adjusting trim to cruise down the other side, actually the top of the dead sub. "See any evidence of a hull fracture?""No," the ensign answered, "just the two burn-throughs. I wonder what went wrong?""A for-realChina Syndrome. It finally happened to somebody." Ames shook his head. If there was anything the navy preached about reactors, it was safety. "Get the transducer against the hull. We'll see if anybody's alive in there."2000January 11, Stan Sesser, “Now It's Time to Figure Out Who Caused All the Y2K Fuss”, inWall Street Journal[4],→ISSN:Contrary to accounts in the media, he states, "bugs of this nature don't causeChina Syndromesor missile launches, at least not generally."; (idiomatic,countable,sometimes fanciful)Abehavior,policy, orsituationcharacteristic of or involving China; anactualorpotentialcatastrophe, especially one involving China.2005, Justin Lahart. "Ahead of the Tape,"Wall Street Journal(Eastern ed.), 6 Oct., p. C1:And then there is theChina syndrome.[…]China now represents about 20% of Korea's total trade.; (medicine)Araredisease, first characterized in the early 1990s, which resemblespoliobut which has somewhat different characteristics and occurs in personsvaccinatedfor polio.2006,Pan American Health Organization, chapter I, inPoliomyelitis Eradication: Field Guide[5],→ISBN, page49:Unlike poliomyelitis, paralysis inChina syndromeis symmetrical. In addition, cases are seasonal.
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