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Effective? >> those are desperate measures. they need to have off-site electrical power to that plant. they need to make sure they get the primary cool atlanta systems back in operation in all four of the affected reactors. that is the most effective means to try to get this plant stabilized. jenna: the company that owns the plant says by the end of this weekend power to the reactor should they say be back and working, but that is eight, nine days into this crisis? is it too late to make a difference? >> it's not. it seems like a race against time but we actually have physics to help us, and w...

This case. it was built to withstand an 8.2 quake. this is a 9.0. the tsunami was the bigger part of the problem. would you agree this is not the time to be debating its safety considering its track record has been good, considering in spite of how disastrous this has been? >> sure. the track record has been good that doesn't mean we shouldn't have a prudent debate in this country to make sure that the tens of millions of american citizens that live in close proximity to the 104 operating reactors that we have,y. need cl hearings to make sure some of the issues that have come up in the japan s...

To the other reactors? >> no. each one of the spent fuel pools is operating independently but the main impact of a big fire at number 4 would be creating an environment where no workers could be present. >> all right. if there are no workers present what would happen at the other reactors? >> oh, we have to think about the three operating reactors that need to have the coolant supplied at a steady rate over a period of more days and more weeks. i am sure that will require on-site personnel. to abandon the site at that point would be to allow an even worse situation to occur. i think they're go...

The operating reactors automatically shut down, but there were problems in the cooling systems. in one of the cooling systems, number one, there was a problem. and in number three, another problem. so because these reactors failed, they went into what was called partial meltdown. not enough electricity to continue to run the cooling system. so scientists and technicians have begun to try to control by dumping the sea water. this is the sea water in this area into it. the concern, of course, is radiation from the plants, as well. the government said there's absolutely no possibility of a trenob...