There is no way for Japan to stop these nuclear core meltdowns at Fukushima and it is just a matter of what extent the fallout will be and how many people will die from this nightmare? Damaged fuel rods only add to the problem, because these rods will make it more difficult for the emergency crews to get to the actual reactor cores to cool the nuclear fuel.
The damage to fuel rods in each of the reactors is reportedly:
Number 1 Reactor - 70%
Number 2 Reactor - 30%
Number 3 Reactor - 25% (note: Reactor #3 is where the spent fuel from the plutonium reactors was likely stored due to reactor #3 being a plutonium reactor.)
Just after the earthquake hit, the No. 1-3 reactors were successfully shut down when control rods were inserted into the cores. However, the plant operators soon lost the ability to adequately cool the cores, and TEPCO believes it possible some of the nuclear fuel pellets inside the fuel rods may have melted and leaked from their metal sheathes.
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