Page 23 - Treactor Core News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Don't know whether it has or it hasn't happened. that's bad news. this reactor where we had an explosion today, that reactor core was exposed for several hours to the air, without being protected by water. so the combination of those two things, a possible containment breach and the exposure of the fuel elements. if that's true, that's bad news. but we should be able to take samples soon, air and ground, and determine whether that's true or not. >> there's also very real concerns about how honest the government and this nuclear company is being about the situation. they put a 20 kilometer evac...

That's bad news. and the government says that in all three reactors now, it is likely that the core has melted to some extent. not a full-blown meltdown, but it is melting. and particularly this reactor where we had an explosion today, that reactor core was exposed for several hours to the air, without being protected by water. so the combination of those two things, a possible containment breach and the exposure of the fuel elements, that -- if, if, if that's true, that's bad news. we should be able to take air samples soon, we should be able to take ground samples soon and determine whether ...

Three mile island was core damage but it was in a different and more sturdy kind of conta containment and it was over before we knew it was happening. this has gone on for days. it's been a continuing struggle. nobody is quite certain about how a reactor core will behave as it gets to be more and more damaged. we're now seeing fission products and the radioactive materials that are created during operations. and that means that the fuel rods have cracked open or perhaps broken open. and the steam that they're releasing because the only way they have to cool the plant is to dump in water and le...

We are some place we've never been before. we have not had this kind of core damage. three mile island was core damage, but it was in a he ditch, more sturdy kind containment. and it was over. this has gone on for days. it's been a continuing struggle. nobody is quite certain about how a reactor core will behave as it gets to be more and more damaged. we know whatfrom what we've seen from outside the plant. we're now seeing fission products and the radioactive materials that are created during operations. and that means that the fuel rods have cracked open or perhaps broken open and the steam ...

>> reporter: there are 31 plants in the u.s. similar to those in trouble in japan, designed by general electric, which is a part owner of nbc universal. one, to oyster creek in new jersey, is the oldest nuclear plant in the country, about 50 miles from new york city. issue three, backup power systems. experts say the japanese reactors basically got into trouble because they lost electricity and backup power systems failed, too, leaving them struggling to cool the reactor core. marvin furtherle of the nuclear energy institute, which speaks for the nuclear industry, says thanks to improvements s...