I have been following newsfeeds and watchdogs on Twitter and there are basically two conflicting streams of info: one stream is saying everything nuclear at Fukushima is under control (usually as per the Japanese), the other stream is saying that radiation is escaping and getting worse and could possibly be of a huge magnitude.

I think what you've said is accurate. The following is the opening to the article, When Does a Nuclear Disaster End? Never Full Story

Quote
Those who think Japan�s Fukushima disaster is today�s headlines and tomorrow�s history need to take a good look at the Chernobyl disaster, which to this day is a continuing threat to the people of Ukraine. It will be hundreds of years before the area around the destroyed reactor is inhabitable again and there are disputes over whether or not Chernobyl�s nuclear fuel still poses a threat of causing another explosion...

Some of the Tweets from Reuters in the past 48 hours:

Radioactivity increases in sea-water off Japan nuclear plant

Japan plant operator says radioactivity in water at reactor No. 2 is 10 million times usual level, workers evacuated - local media

Japan nuclear safety agency says no chance of highly radioactive water from reactor turbine buildings flowing into the sea

Japan plant operator confirms high radiation, evacuates workers from reactor's turbine building