Radiation Problem News Today

The donbas region in the eastern part of the country. it is possible that some of these troops will be moved from kyiv over to the donbas to try to reinforce their offensive operations there. >> there is also new reporting a month ago when, we had word about a fire at a nuclear plant in zaporizhzhia, this is a massive concern all around europe, not the least ukraine. there is reporting today that russia is pulling back from chernobyl because of radiation exposure. you seemed to suggest in today ...

About a fire at a nuclear plant in zaporizhzhia, this is a massive concern all around europe, not the least ukraine. there is reporting today that russia is pulling back from chernobyl because of radiation exposure. he seemed to suggest in todays briefing that it is not necessarily radiation exposure that might be causing that the pullback, when more can you tell us about the? >> when we think -- we do assess that some other troops are leaving chernobyl, the general assessment is that this is al...

Offensive operations there. >> theres also new reporting, a month ago, we had word about a fire at a nuclear plant, in zaporizhzhia, a massive concern around europe and ukraine, and there is a report that russia is pulling back from chernobyl because of radiation exposure and you seem to suggest in todays briefing that it is not necessarily radiation exposure that might be causing them to pull back. what more can youth tell us abo that? >> what we think is we do sense, assess that some of their ...

>> but it makes people nervous. >> of course. radiation is this unseen, you cant smell it, you cant feel it, you cant see it. as a result people will get nervous about radiation. but there is such a thing as such low levels of radiation that they almost dont matter. for instance, people who live in denver get exposed to a lot more radiation than people live in san francisco and the reason is denver is a higher altitude and closer to natural cosmic radiation that comes down all the time. thats no...

Melting down, theres seven pools of spent fuel in risk of draining and catching on fire or melting down themselves. weve never seen anything like this. it is way passed three mile island and were headed into chernobyl territory. the best case is theyre contained and kept in the concrete boxes. the worst case is that the molten lava breaches the walls and spills out spreading radioactivity for hundreds of square kilometers. but remember, this is a japanese radiation problem. this radiation is not...

Country where my two kids live and my foundation is based. nothing to worry about. this is a japanese radiation problem, not an american one. >> but plenty to worry about in january? 3z this is a very, very serious situation, much worse than the 3 million accident here. >> how close is it tocher possibly? >> no, no. >> the worst ever. >> wont get an explosion like that where the reactor is tlut into the sky and spreads over the continent. a problem in one facility affects the other areas. the wa...

Atmosphere and spread across the continent. this is a radiation problem for japan. its unlikely that we in the united states are going to feel any effects of this. but its at absolutely immediately the farmers and the people in that 20 kilometer radius around the facilities, whether they can return to their houses, again, is very doubtful. but you also have the nuclear power industry. japan depends for over 30% of its electricity on nuclear power. this is a blow that, frankly, i dont think the n...

That no one really wants to see. >> and then the little time we have left, if your worst case scenario happens, who is the most affected? is the entire allied japan or some segment of it? >> well, this is not like a chernobyl accident where intense radioactivity shot into the atmosphere and spread across the continent. this is a radiation problem for japan. its unlikely that we in the united states are going to feel any effects of this. but its at absolutely immediately the farmers and the peopl...

As the search for the missing labors on, another american name is still waiting to hear from their loved one. 26-year-old monty dixon. he belonged to the same program as taylor, teaching english in iwate. he family in anchorage is consumed by worry but focused on the mission. >> the grief is overwhelming. >> we certainly wish those people well. theres another american connection to this story, which is that theres a plume of radiation thats come across the entire united states, but that is very ...

Japanese tv has been issuing instruction for anyone in the 12-mile radius to get people out. if they are still there, they have to close doors on their homes, wear long sleeve shirts to stop radiation problem if there is a release. this is going on and there is a huge rescue operation underway. trying to help survivors from the earthquake and tsunami. back to you. >> shannon: david piper with the latest in tokyo. thank you. they increased the magnitude of the earthquake at 9.0. they say it was a...