Page 119 - Radioactive Material News Today

The reactor to cool the fuel rods. about 160 people being tested for possible exposure to radioactive material. both reactors could have meltdowns. across northern japan, people searching evacuation lists for relatives and friends. the official death toll, 977. 739 missing, but those figures are sure to rise. one regional police official says the deaths in his area alone will "undoubtedly be in the tens of thousands." "uss ronald reagan" arrived. more ships expected today or later this week. s...

Important event in the overall thing. we have a reasonable understanding as to why it happened. its because they had released gases from the central what they call the pressure vessel. the most important part of the safety systems of the plant, which is where the radioactive material -- most radioactive material is kept. pressure building up in that. quite likely to be some hydrogen in that mixture. they released that, and when the hydrogen and oxygen formed a fixture in that large building, the...

Container. here, the g.e . built plants in japan have that container so he told us he doesnt think there could be massive nuclear meltdown that could spread throughout the area. the latest is theyre trying to take steps to prevent that? >> its not clear what will happen. time is running out but they seem to be suggesting they will have to act in some way to control a nuclear meltdown in a few hours of one unit so far. >> eric: the report so far say 160 people may have been exposed and tested for...

Were pouring in sea water but the gauge didnt indicate the sea water was going up. that led to the possibility that there might be another explosion. we should point out that nothing is happening at the nuclear power plants thats anywhere near chernobyl or what almost happened at three mile island years before that. radioactive material has been released into the environment. people have been evacuated but it is not chernobyl. thomas? >> what are you seeing as you venture out during the day ther...

Community. i do know that at least one worker was exposed to five times the amount of radiation that what an international agency says a nuclear power plant worker should receive in a year. but i think, as you saw, they are obviously screening people for radiation. japan has notified the international atomic energy agency that it is preparing to distribute iodine pills to people who live in the evacuation area, all in an effort to prevent anybody from taking in any kind of radioactive material. ...

Radiation contamination to the power plant in fukushima. stan grant joins us in tokyo. first of all, help us understand what exactly was that explosion, and what might that mean about any kind of emanating fuels or fumes. >> reporter: yeah, that explosion, fredricka, really moved what has been an emergency situation here to a very critical situation. it was a loud explosion at the number one reactor, the number one plant there. and it sent a plume of smoke into the air. now, there was a lot of c...

There is a containment system here. and it was built specifically in the case of some sort of catastrophic failure to make sure there was not a radiological release. the hope is that thats intact, that it will hold, that the pressure wont build up too much and that it will be able to keep things under control. but i just wanted to throw in here that the meltdown doesnt necessarily relate automatically to a release. >> and as i said also, the radioactive material via number is decreasing. and tha...

We are looking to see exactly what the extent of the injuries will be. this has raised concern -- radioactive material is released into the air. the government admitted today some radioactive material has been released into the air. they are saying a low-level and no threat to anyone. the exclusion zone is steadily increased. first a mile or so, then six miles it is doubled to over 13 miles, 20 kilometers. an indication of the concern of the situation they are monitoring hour-by-hour. >> stan, s...

You heard the story. let me repeat it, mr. ambassador, because i know you speak for the japanese government. a meltdown may be under way at one of fukushimas daiichi nuclear power reactors. an official with japans nuclear and industrial safety agency told cnn. quhak you tell us about this, mr. ambassador? >> chief cabinet secretary of japan has made an announcement in the press conference about this issue. there was a concern about this reactor. we have confirmed that there was a blow-up. it was...

Thats what caused the problem with the cool ant. water must be kept at a certain level to keep it cool. they generate so much heat, it turns into steam and is converted into electricity. when the water drops, you expose the reactor and it heats up. they are trying to pump more water into there to get it to a certain level to cool the reactor. there have been concern about melting of the outer casing of the fuel. they have been talking about the cesium, the radioactive material that has been rele...