There are some conflicting opinions about how those explosions came about. Did they occur before or after meltout ? Was the explosion a result of meltout or simply overheating ? We know they were venting containment multiple times before the explosions. Some evidence points to steam explosions when the corium hit the sandstone layer below.
Nuclear explosions contain a large portion of light and heat energy. That thermal and blast energy is not radioactive and is what vaporizes the surrounding material. About 15 % of the energy is Nuclear Radiation. Since E=MC2, about 85 % of the mass is converted to thermal and blast energy.
Excerpted from The Energy from a Nuclear Weapon
The remaining 15 percent of the energy is released as various type of nuclear radiation. Of this, 5 percent constitutes the initial nuclear radiation, defined as that produced within a minute or so of the explosion, are mostly gamma rays and neutrons. The final 10 percent of the total fission energy represents that of the residual (or delayed) nuclear radiation, which is emitted over a period of time. This is largely due to the radioactivity of the fission products present in the weapon residues, or debris, and fallout after the explosion.
It IS a lot, but we're still here, aren't we?
Not for much longer my friend.
With the latest information posted above, which was difficult to find with google, 15 % of the mass of a nuclear warhead remains as nuclear radiation particles. If we use that new figure (15 % instead of 50 %), and we assume it has been leaking ever since the underground drainage system was destroyed during the earthquake/tsumnami, looks like 3 to 4 nukes going off every day in the sea off the coast of Fukushima for 2 1/2 years. But since some of that Fukushima Nuclear mass has been converted to heat during those 2 1/2 years, they pump water every day to dissipate that heat, we should assume conservatively the rough equivalent of 2 Ivy Kings going off the coast every day.