Is it true that just looking at it would irradiate a person enough to be fatal? If so, how would it achieve that?
If not, how is the misconception wrong? What *would* it do?
In: Chemistry
It’s a bunch of melted metal (well, it was melted and now it’s mostly solidified in the shape you’ve seen pictures of).
The metal was actually the radioactive fuel that powered the nuclear reactor. It melted because the nuclear reaction got out of control and generated too much heat too fast.
It is as dangerous as you’ve heard, because it’s still extremely radioactive. It’s not actively melting or exploding because the shape has changed and spread out enough that the reaction is no longer self-sustaining to the extent that it was before (like a bomb or at least a very active nuclear reaction) but it is still highly radioactive waste with much of the behavior of an active nuclear reactor.
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