Meltdown may have occured at Fukushima nuclear power plant

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110312p2a00m0na006000c.html
begin quote.
A core meltdown may have occurred at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture that was damaged in a massive earthquake on March 11, a government regulator said on March 12.

Cesium from nuclear fuel was detected in radioactive materials in a monitored zone at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant's No. 1 reactor, according to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA).
Earlier in the day, radiation leaks were confirmed at the plant. Eight times the normal amount of radiation was detected at the front gate of the plant, and 1,000 times the normal amount was detected in the central control room for the plant's No. 1 reactor, the NISA said. end quote.

So, the world may be experiencing another Chernobyl kind of experience. It is my belief that all countries around the world downwind need to start assessing radiation on the winds just like after Chernobyl went. In the past, dairy cattle exposed to this radiation on the winds created a situation where their milk could not be drunk. Often during Chernobyl, flesh of all animals in Eastern Europe downwind of Chernobyl couldn't be eaten. Though the radiation might accumulate on food grown usually it doesn't concentrate the radiation like eating radiated flesh does. So food grown is usually safe to eat.

Later: Saturday morning March 12th 2011
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-general/20110309/NEWS-US-JAPAN-QUAKE/

FUKUSHIMA, Japan — Radiation leaked from an earthquake-crippled nuclear plant in Japan on Saturday after a blast blew off the roof, and authorities prepared to distribute iodine to local people to protect them from exposure.

The government insisted radiation levels were low because although the explosion severely damaged the main building of the plant, it had not affected the reactor core container. Japan's nuclear safety agency said the accident rated less serious than either the Three Mile Island or Chernobyl disasters.
end quote.

Here is something quite useful regarding all this that I found on the 13th of March 2011:
Wikipedia: Fukushima I nuclear accidents