【《纽约时报》1984年11月8日报道】据美国能源部的一份调查报告说,三里岛核电站2号堆堆芯比人们当初预料的更接近于熔化。铀燃料过热太多时就会熔化。专家们认为,如果这一过程继续下去,反应堆压力容器底部就会被熔穿,接下去就会烧穿反应堆厂房的混凝土地板,致使大量放射性物质泄漏到周围环境中去。在三里岛事故发生时,由于机械故障和操纵员误操作,致使反应堆堆芯冷却水中 [The New York Times reported on November 8, 1984] According to a survey report by the US Department of Energy, the core of the No. 2 reactor at the Sanli Island nuclear power plant is closer to melting than people had expected. Uranium fuel melts when it is overheated too much. Experts believe that if this process continues, the bottom of the reactor pressure vessel will be melted through, and then will burn through the concrete floor of the reactor building, causing a large amount of radioactive material to leak into the surrounding environment. At the time of the Sanli Island accident, due to mechanical failure and operator misoperation, the reactor core cooling water