Nuclear Situation Still Very Unstable in Japan

Boy, it just seems to get worse and worse:

Japan's nuclear crisis showed signs of spinning out of control Tuesday, after officials reported a third explosion and warned of possible damage to a critical part of the cooling system at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power complex.

Tuesday's explosion at the No. 2 reactor in the Fukushima complex, 150 miles north of Tokyo, for the first time raised the possibility that the key containment structure of the unit, which protects the reactor vessel and keeps dangerous radioactive materials from leaking out, had been damaged.

The telltale sign, Tokyo Electric Power Co. officials said, was that pressure had dropped in the "suppression pool"—the part of the reactor that converts steam to water at the bottom of the container. Meanwhile, radiation levels outside the reactor building rose sharply.

Tepco evacuated some of the workers from the unit as a precaution.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan gave a brief address to the nation saying, "We will do our utmost to prevent further spreading of radiation leaks. I sincerely urge everyone in the nation to act calmly."

I heard that journalists were fleeing the area near the nuclear plants because things were getting so dangerous.

To top it off the Nikkei Stock Exchange in Tokyo dropped 23% in just two days over the fears of what might happen.

Japan has a cascade of disasters that would finish off most countries.  Let's hope they can handle it.