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1 Loss of water coolant perhaps triggered the accident. When the water-circulation system
failed, the temperature in the reactor core increased to over 5,000 degree Farenheit, causing the uranium
fuel to begin melting and producing steam that reacted with the zirconium alloy cladding of the fuel rod to
produce hydrogen gas. 2 A second reaction between steam and graphite produced free hydrogen and carbon oxides. When this gas combined with oxygen, a blast blew off the top of the building, igniting the graphite. 3 The burning graphite threw a dense cloud of radioactive fission products into the air. |
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