American slang for a
nuclear fission meltdown accident in which the
molten nuclear core heats and melts the ground beneath it, thus sinking into the
earth, and heading towards
China (which is roughly on the opposite side of the globe (actually I always thought that
Australia was on the other side of the
globe, whatever)).
Also a movie released in 1979 starring
Jane Fonda and
Michael Douglas. The movie has a very anti-nuclear energy slant to it. Coincidentally, just days after this movie's release in theaters the near-meltdown at
Three Mile Island occured.
In one episode of
The Simpsons I believe
Homer claimed to have caused a China Syndrome.
Source: The Internet Movie Database www.imdb.org