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At number two, they haven't been so clear about what the water level is inside the reactor. and that also would be worrisome because if those rods in there which were in use until just a couple days ago are not fully covered with water, then they're going to begin to have a slow burn, could become a fast burn. sort of a meltdown situation, are we right about that? >> well, they've said those rods were completely uncovered for over two hours. that would melt the rods. i mean, that would certainly fail the fuel and i would say probably melt the rods. i don't think they know what is inside those ...

So it's basically holding pretty hot fuel that would not normally be the case. >> all right. dale bridenbower, thanks for joining you, thank you for all your hard work over the years. wy than many other allergy medications. omnaris. omnaris. to the nose! did you know nasal symptoms like congestion can be caused by allergic inflammation? omnaris relieves your symptoms by fighting inflammation. side effects may include headache, nosebleed and sore throat. [ inhales deeply ] i nipped my allergy symptoms in the bud. omnaris. ask your doctor. battling nasal allergy symptoms? omnaris combats the cau...

Know, i'm not an engineer obviously. but why you wouldn't put some greater protection over that pool to protect it from the outside environment, and vice-versa. protect the outside environment from that pool. >> well, the structure is supposed to be designed to withstand the maximum credible earthquake. the spent fuel is cooled by the water that's in this large pool. it's laike a big swimming pool. again, under normal circumstances, you would have a number of hours or days before you'd have to take any action. it's not clear to me why this fire has occurred on unit number four. it should not h...

Course of two hours you got the 50% meltdown. here if we go much longer -- what is the worst case scenario for us here? >> well, we hope we don't get there, but if they lose cooling in those reactors, then all of the fuel could melt, and it would then -- it could then go through the bottom of the pressure vessel. it would then fall down into the containment, the concrete containment, but none of these structures are designed to cope with this kind of event. and so it's unclear what happens. >> you know, victor -- >> in any case, it would be -- it would be an easier path from the waste which is...

>> you have a world of experience, you were one of the commissioners of the nrc that oversaw the entire nuclear power sector in the united states. you know, most of us who are trying to figure this out or read about it, are new this, are we right that these spent fuel chambers, these pools with all the rods which are not really protected from the environment, if the water level there goes down too far or they have a fire there, we've got a major crisis on our hands? >> oh, absolutely. because there's more waste, radioactive material in that spent fuel pool than there is in the core of the reac...