"[1:10 a.m. ET Saturday, 2:10 p.m. Saturday in Tokyo] Workers have drilled three holes apiece in the ceilings of the Nos. 5 and 6 nuclear reactors at the embattled Fukushima Daiichi power plant in order to alleviate pressure, a Tokyo Electric Power Co. official said.
This was done to release hydrogen gas and steam, whose buildup contributed to explosions at the plants Nos. 1, 2 and 3 units. Experts say the emission of hydrogen gas may be an indication of a partial nuclear meltdown, which may happen when nuclear fuel rods inside are not fully covered by water.
There have been no such explosions at the plant's Nos. 5 and 6 units.
Japanese authorities have said that a diesel generator is now powering a cooling system for those two reactors."
From,
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/19/japan-quake-live-blog-workers-drill-holes-to-alleviate-pressure-at-plant/?hpt=T2
I find this post concerning because previous reports were that #5 and #6 had little risk of explosion and temperatures of the cooling water for both units was under control but rising to about 80c.
If hydrogen gas is present, it is possible that these spent fuel pools are out o control. This represents the potential of a fire and more radioactive release.
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