The plant itself is finished.
 They pumped-in raw sea-water in a desperate measure to maintain cooling but this will cause the plant to corrode, so it will have to be de-commissioned and dismantled.

Meantime, they have to try to keep the reactors cool which means more water, more contaminated steam-release etc. 

A major explosion is not particularly likely at this stage - it is more the insidious leaking of unseen radiation, which is then spread on prevailing winds.

These are changeable in this area and can blow from south to north, north to south (into Tokyo) and east-to-west (into Korea, China, Russia etc).

They rarely seem to blow out to sea, but already America is worried if this happens.

The fact that China has already started emergency procedures on the Sakhalin Peninsula is instructive.

From all the negative reactions from scientists and from other countries, you can gauge the clear idea that this is already much worse than they are admitting.

And it can get a lot worse still.

You can only imagine the horrific outcome of another earthquake in this area, more tsunamis etc.

 

Everyone is feeling for the people of Japan and those who have family or loved ones anywhere in the region who might be threatened by this.

One of our friends was due to fly to Sendai for a work program yesterday. He is one of the lucky ones.