Closer to the plant, radioactivity in seawater tested about 1,250 times higher than normal last week and climbed to 1,850 times normal over the weekend. Nishiyama said the increase was a concern but the area was not a source of seafood…

“This is far beyond what one nation can handle — it needs to be bumped up to the U.N. Security Council,” said Najmedin Meshkati, of the University of Southern California. “In my humble opinion, this is more important than the Libya no-fly zone.”

Murray Jennex, a nuclear power plant expert and associate professor at San Diego State University, said “there’s not really a plan B” other than to dry out the plant, get power restored and start cooling it down.

“What we’re now in is a long slog period with lots of small, unsexy steps that have to be taken to pull the whole thing together,” he told Reuters.