If one reactor gets so bad (meltdown) forcing permanent evacuation - all the remaining reactors won't be maintainable/saveable and thus in a domino effect - if one goes, all go (meltdown).
It is unlikely that a meltdown through the core will occur but if that happens - the scary term China Syndrome - the melted radioactive fuel will melt through steel, concrete, rock, maybe even bedrock.
For the USA and rest of the world: Irradiated food supplies will be a real concern if hundreds of tons of radioactive melted fuel merge with the outside environment
To put it in perspective: If you were in Japan near Tokyo or closer to the affected nuclear plant, would you be more skeptical of the seemingly contradictory news coming out.
Because of fire, explosions, and excessive radiation exposure to workers.
The meltdown would still be contained
Containment is believed to have failed in reactor 2 and likely 3 at this point. Smoke or steam has been billowing from number 3 for hours now and its fuel is in the reactor, not the spent fuel pool.
If one reactor gets so bad (meltdown) forcing permanent evacuation - all the remaining reactors won't be maintainable/saveable and thus in a domino effect - if one goes, all go (meltdown).
It is unlikely that a meltdown through the core will occur but if that happens - the scary term China Syndrome - the melted radioactive fuel will melt through steel, concrete, rock, maybe even bedrock.
For the USA and rest of the world: Irradiated food supplies will be a real concern if hundreds of tons of radioactive melted fuel merge with the outside environment
To put it in perspective: If you were in Japan near Tokyo or closer to the affected nuclear plant, would you be more skeptical of the seemingly contradictory news coming out.