Nuclear power plant explodes like a nuclear bomb?

Atom Bomb Explosion

The idea of a nuclear power plant going off like a bomb likely came from our collective imaginations after seeing years of images of nuclear bomb test footage. First, there's a flash of light, followed by the rush of the concussion and a rising mushroom cloud. When the smoke clears, the power plant and the neighboring city have been flattened, right? Not really. Nuclear plants aren't identical to nuclear bombs. The fuel in a nuclear plant does not contain the materials necessary to explode like a bomb, nor can its components form what is known as a "super critical" shape in order to explode.

As the world witnessed at Three-Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, nuclear plants will experience a meltdown rather than blowing up. The real threat in a nuclear meltdown is not the event of an explosion. The greater concern is radiation leaking from the plant. Once airborne, it can contaminate huge swaths of landslide. The radiation can reach around the world, though its levels become weaker due to dissipation.