Japan's nuclear meltdown: Is it another Chernobyl?

The devastated island nation appears to be losing its fight to contain toxic radioactivity at its Fukushima nuclear reactors. Just how bad will it get?

A doctor conducts radiation tests for those who might have been exposed during explosions at Japan's damaged nuclear power plant.
(Image credit: Corbis)

In the aftermath of Friday's earthquake, Japan continues to fight a nuclear catastrophe at its damaged Fukushima Daiichi power plant, about 150 miles northeast of Tokyo. New explosions raised the amount of radiation in the area to levels that "without a doubt would affect a person's health," says Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, and the government has ordered all residents within a 20-mile radius of the plants to stay indoors. What exactly is going on at Fukushima, and will the fallout be "serious or catastrophic"?

How do the Fukushima fission reactors work?

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