China syndrome

noun

1. a hypothetical nuclear-reactor accident in which the fuel would melt through the floor of the containment structure and burrow into the earth.

Word History and Origins

Origin of China syndrome¹

First recorded in 1970–75; from the jocular notion that the hot reactor core would pass through to the other side of the earth

Example Sentences

One of my mentors and friend Jim Bridges was the director of The China Syndrome with Jane Fonda and Michael Douglas.

From The Daily Beast