Do you mean the ones that exploded and were blown to bits?
And I admit that I am no expert on nuclear plant design(far from it). But what I understand to be the containment buildings- are severely damaged. Then there is damage to all the coolant lines. It is hard to believe that they have not been blown apart in some cases. So if there is some other containment vessel then how does the water get there?
And then even a large tank will eventually become full. Then what?
How do we know what is really going on?
SALT — LOTS OF SALT
“Western nuclear engineers have become increasingly concerned about a separate problem that may be putting pressure on the Japanese technicians to work faster: salt buildup inside the reactors, which could cause them to heat up more and, in the worst case, cause the uranium to melt, releasing a range of radioactive material.”
“The Japanese have reported that some of the seawater used for cooling has returned to the ocean, suggesting that some of the salt may have flowed out again rather than remaining in the reactors. But clearly a significant amount remains.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/24/world/asia/24nuclear.html?_r=2&hp
