Following the events at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactors
in Japan has been challenging. At best, even those present at
the site have a limited view of what's going on inside the
reactors themselves, and the situation has changed rapidly over
the last several days. Meanwhile, the terminology involved is
somewhat confusing—some fuel rods have almost certainly melted,
but we have not seen a meltdown; radioactive material has been
released from the reactors, but the radioactive fuel currently
remains contained. Over time, the situation has become a bit
less confused, as cooler heads have explained more about the
reactor and the events that have occurred within it. What we'll
attempt to do here is aggregate the most reliable information we
can find, using material provided by multiple credible sources.
We've attempted to confirm some of this information with groups
like the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Department of
Energy but, so far, these organizations are not making their
staff available to talk