Radiation Escaping News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

What impact would it have on the food chain? can it contaminate someone else what's going on over there? >> that's the most important question actually. most of the -- one of the most prevalent radio isotopes, elements that are produced by figures reaction is radioiodine. the reason for that is that it is atomic number such that it's half of the atomic number of the uranium, 235, and therefore if products contain a lot of iodine 131. iodine 131 could potentially if it goes into the food chain like what happened in chernobyl could result in far-reaching late effects of radiation. for example, i...

Those that relied on the coast they lived there for a reason. certainly a lot of people around the nuclear power plants and it has to be rebuilt from the ground up and no one is certain how it will happen at that point. people will wait to hear from the government if there will be temporary housing and shelter. you know, after the kobe earthquake, people said they earthquake, people said they heard a sooner and reacted quicker, and people are just kind of shrugging their shoulders wondering when they will get some answers. >> rick, this makes new orleans look like nothing. new orleans was hell...

And you have a risk that something worse could happen and we saw a preview of that. the international atomic energy agency reported yesterday based on japanese information there was a fire in the spent fuel ponds at unit 4. there you can have radiation material directly into the atmosphere. there's also been a worry that if they don't cool the reactor that you could have a meltdown. there's been a partial melting of fuel according to most observers and experts and that that could become worse and if in the very worst case it could actually go through the bottom of the reactor and then there ca...

A problem if spent fuel at that site becomes exposed. let me ask you about the threat to people. what is it -- let me get really basic here. the threat to human bodies of radiation. what is it? >> it damages -- in large doses, it can cause sickness. it's called radiation sickness. you can damage the blood. you can vomit and in larger doses you can actually die and so you have to be very careful to reduce the risk and that's really what the workers face. that's why the site was evacuated. the dose rate got so high yesterday that it wasn't safe to stay there and so only essential personnel were ...

Significant effect even then. >> you mention the rain being a beneficial element here. it seems to me based upon my little information on this and check me if you can, when the rain comes down and takes nuclear particulates out of the air, the stuff you don't want landing on you, it lands in puddles, and if it's snowing, it lands in the snow piles. apparently it's still radiation. it's still radioactive and on the ground and it's still dangerous. >> that's exactly right. the thing is it keeps it from dispersing. the rain is only good in sort of contained sense. the fact is they're going to hav...