And while this hypothetical nightmare defied the laws of physics, geology, and geography, if a core meltdown had begun in Chernobyl, the China Syndrome posed two real threats. The first and most obvious was to the local environment. The power station sat just a few meters above the water table of the Pripyat River, and if the melted fuel penetrated that far, the consequences would be catastrophic. A whole range of toxic radionuclides would poison the drinking water not only supplied to Kiev but also that of everyone in Ukraine who drew from the waters of the Dnieper River basin—some thirty
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