Japanese officials believe that the tops of the fuel rods are exposed. Agency officials said a team of National Institute of Radiological Sciences detected ces

Japanese officials believe that the tops of the fuel rods are exposed. Agency officials said a team of National Institute of Radiological Sciences detected cesium, a radioactive substance contained in nuclear fuel rods, near the No. 1 reactor of the No. 1 nuclear plant, leading them to suspect nuclear fuel rods in the reactor began melting amid the high temperatures. The nuclear safety agency said in the afternoon that the level of cooling water in the No. 1 reactor likely had dropped to 1.7 meters below the top of nuclear fuel rods, leading officials to suspect that about half of the rods' length had been exposed. Reactor meltdown feared / Quake disabled Fukushima N-plants' cooling systems http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20110312dy01.htm http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20110312dy01.htm