Page 2 - Reactor Itself News Today

And we dont know a lot with precision about the effects of small doses. theres a theory that every little bit hurts, but theres observational data that says we cant demonstrate that. >> without wanting to be doom-laid ben thden about this, is the worst possible news that you would hear as an expert in this area from that plant? >> probably that the spent fuel spool on fire because what would burn there is the metal cladding, and thats very difficult to put out. that would disperse more radioacti...

>> about this plant? if youre within a few miles, you ought to be worried. thats why theyve moved people out. if youre more than a few miles, you do have potential to pick up significant dose, depending on the next few days, the direction of the wind. if youre farther away, youre likely to get some dose, but it may not be very much. and we dont know a lot with precision about the effects of small doses. theres a theory that every little bit hurts, but theres observational data that says we cant ...

The hour, theyre still gr grappligra grappling to deal with this explosion. that blue a hole in the the outer wall. officials have pointed out it did not affect the reactor itself, what it did do was knocked out the coolant to the number three reactor. all three now struggling to stay cool. this has been exacerbated throughout the day. at one point they were pumping sea water into these reactors to try to cool them. and the fuel pump ran out of fuel. that was as a result of human error. but in t...

Its a different measure to different reactors. as for the sea water, yes, for the reactor itself, it is better to put in clear water. but we do not have enough supply of clear water there so we are putting in sea water. >> so its not necessarily a sign that things are dire, a sign that you dont have the kind of water youd like to use? >> we do not -- if theres clear water, it would be better for reactor itself, but in order to cool down, sea water would have the same effect as clear water. the e...

Theyre pumping more seawater into the reactor. its the only solution they have even though they have access to other water. thats in an attempt to try to cool the reactor. strangely enough though, officials say despite pumping water the levels are about the same meaning the reactors are still being exposed. what theyre still hoping isve if there is some damage to the reactor itself, some disintell gralgs that theres another containment around it. that being said some radiation has been detected....

Monitors detected what may have been the melting of a fuel rod at the plant but there is no sign of dangerous radiation levels in the area. on cnns "state of the union today," candy crowley asked japans ambassador to the united states about efforts to cool the reactors. >> it is better to put in clear water, but we do not have enough supply of clear water there, so we are putting in sea water. >> it is not necessarily a sign that things are dire, it is a sign that you dont have the kind of water...

We may be in a situation in japan that may have that consequence. if it did have that consequence, the result would be, of course, very devastating for the reactor itself, but the consequences for the people living in the vicinity would be very minor. >> so when we think about -- and again, im going to go back to chern only even though its not a perfect analogy. i know when chernobyl groek down there were effects of that with radiation clouds in sweden. do you have any concern with whats happeni...

The numbers 5 and 6 appear to be the least troubled. so those, apparently, are stable. the big problems are at reactors 3 and 4. smoke seen rising from number 3. theyve evacuated all workers. theyre not clear if its come from the reactor itself, but the fear is, the pressure is rising that steam is coming out. remember, number 3 is the only one that uses plutonium. that is much more toxic than uranium. and the concern is, because the containment shell is damaged that you would have that radioact...

That was contained inside the reactor itself, inside the plant. outside the plant, those radiation levels have been very dramatic falling. and this is what the authority, the officials have had to say about that. not so long ago. >> translator: the level has come down to the level to cause no harm to human health according to the report i have received. >> now, as youre saying here, the levels have come down, and thats consistent with what weve seen in past days. you would see a spike in the rad...

Normal is what theyre saying. they revealed today that they found pools like the one that those workers stepped in a couple of days ago that sent two of them to the hospital, they found similar pools in basically reactors 1, 2 and 3 and all of them have higher than normal radiation levels which makes getting in there that much more difficult. they cant go in and spend a good deal of time in there because of the radiation. and as such, they cant figure out where this leak is coming from. they kno...