and in the air near the reactors. sea waters in limpbt locations offshore had radiation levels as high as 1,850 times the normal amount. we have an expert on national safety here to talk about this. we re just learning about finding the plutonium in the soil. can you put this in perspective for snus. this starts to become relevant to the chernobyl days. that was one of the most horrible things i experienced in the plutonium fields. we still don t know in the reactor. what could it mean in the soil? well, it means something is getting out of the reactor core there. the plutonium in unit three, they had ha mix of plutonium and your yan yum in. that means it s gotten out either in the water or a reactor core breach. it s not a good development.
it shows the waves surging onto streets and washing away cars lined up in a parking lot. nbc s charles hadlock is following developments from seoul, south korea. where do we stand on this contaminated sea water. reporter: well, more contamination has been find in and ornd the fukushima plant. japanese officials report that plutonium has now been found in five sites in and around the crippled plant. plutonium does not occur naturally, so it is coming from the plant. most probably from reactor number 3. that is the one that used processed nuclear fuel which contains plutonium. there s a problem in the plumbing. that s the whole problem with the fukushima plant. the four reactors have crippled cooling systems. they need the cooling systems up and operating to keep the reactor core and the spent fuel cool. the problem is getting to the plant, because it is now flooded with radioactive water, perhaps
the situation in japan s stricken nuclear plant has become even more dire. workers there have discovered new pools of water 100,000 times more radioactive than normal they say. it has prompted the power authority that runs the plant to admit that there was indeed a partial meltdown of the nuclear core in reactor 2. we re joined pie a nuclear expert and president of the plow shares fund. we are observing, as you will, the anniversary of three mile island. yes, yes. this disaster is far, far worse. three mile island erupted 32 years ago, 1979, and was over in five days, one reactor, partial meltdown. here in fukushima, we have five reactors, maybe six lined up in a row. four of them are in critical condition, either in the reactor core itself or the fuel ponds. and it s already gone on for 17, 18 days with no end in sight.
million times more positive for radioactive iodine than it should do on any given day. the significant part is that it is higher deemed. this is only really created during nuclear fission which is making people worry that this is actually come from the reactor core. so we re hearing from the officials now that will is a high possibility that there has been some kind of rupture, that this is spillage from the reactor core itself which is obviously cause for concern. now we just had a press conference with japan s nuclear safety agency. they say they re looking into the figures. they want tepco to have another look at them. obviously, ten million times higher than you expect is quite an alarming figure. we re hoping to get some clarification on that. and it s not just the reactor. at this point the seawater is testing even more positive for radioactive substances, 1800 times higher than it would on a normal day. that s just up the coast, just next to the nuclear plant. officials say it s
wants to go. but otherwise, if the world leaves gadhafi in power or leaves him behind, believe me the western countries they will suffer more than the libyans. all right. because he s a man of revenge. he will never forget. ambassador, thanks for coming in, and our best to you and your family and the brave people. thank you very much. i appreciate it. up next, troubling news out of japan where that damaged reactor core may have been breached. it could mean much larger amounts of radiation are already leaking out. we ll get the latest on that crisis when we return. you re watching hardball only on msnbc. it hit helps the lhe of companipanies like the she smallestt ofof startups.ups. th ththat lets yos your employeloy, pa and custcustomersvate and sharee so you can can unleash tsh the of your mor your peopleople.