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Expert: Nuclear Radiation Could Spread Far Beyond Japan

   Michael Bowman | Washington  March 13, 2011
   Officials in protective gear near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant,
   in Koriyama, March 13, 2011

Photo: Reuters

   Officials in protective gear near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant,
   in Koriyama, March 13, 2011

   An  American  nuclear  expert  says  radiation from Japan could spread
   across  the Pacific and reach the United States if a complete meltdown
   occurs  at  a  Japanese  nuclear  facility damaged as a result of last
   weekās earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Ā
   Nuclear expert Joseph Cirincione of the Ploughshares Fund says Japanās
   nuclear crisis is in a critical phase.
   "One of the [Japanese] reactors has had half the core exposed already.
   This  is  the  one  they are now flooding with seawater in a desperate
   effort to prevent a complete meltdown."
   Cirincione  spoke  on  the Fox News Sunday television program. He said
   the  Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Japanās northeast coast is one
   of at least three nuclear facilities at risk.
   Japan  has  evacuated  civilians  from  areas surrounding the troubled
   plant,  but Cirincione says radiation could spread far beyond Japan if
   efforts to contain the crisis fail.

   Explosion at the Fukushima nuclear plant

   IFRAME: [1]http://www.youtube.com/embed/5KzABEkkc10?rel=0

   "The  worst-case  scenario  is  that  the  fuel  rods  fuse together -
   temperatures  get  so hot that [they] melt together into a radioactive
   molten  mass  that  busts  through the containment mechanisms. So they
   spew radioactivity into the ground, into the air, into the water. Some
   of  that radioactivity could carry in the atmosphere to the west coast
   of the United States."
   Japanās   ambassador  in  Washington,  Ichiro  Fujisaki,  acknowledged
   potential  dangers,  but  said  no  complete  nuclear meltdown appears
   imminent.
   "It  is  true  that  part  of [the] fuel rod may have been deformed or
   melting.  But  it  is  not  a  situation where [the] core reactor, the
   substantial part of [the] reactor, is melting down."
   The  ambassador  spoke  on NBCās Meet the Press. Also appearing on the
   program  was  the  head  of  the U.S. Nuclear Energy Institute, Marvin
   Furtel,  who  praised  Japanās  response to the nuclear crisis. Furtel
   said  a  meltdown at a nuclear power plant does not always result in a
   massive release of radiation, as Americaās own history shows.
   "At  Three Mile Island [in Pennsylvania], which was the worst accident
   we  ever had, about half of the core melted, so about 50 percent.Ā  It
   resulted  in no [radiation] releases off-site that threatened anybody.
   So,  you  can  have fuel melt, and if the rest of your safety systems,
   your  containment,  works  and  you  manage  to keep the reactor under
   control, the dangers for public health and safety are really minimal."
   Some  U.S. legislators are suggesting heightened scrutiny of Americaās
   nuclear  energy  program  in  the  wake of Japanās crisis. Independent
   Democratic   Senator   Joe   Lieberman   says   new  nuclear  facility
   construction  should  be  placed  on hold pending a full assessment of
   potential  risks.  But  the  Senateās  top Republican, Minority Leader
   Mitch  McConnell,  says  it would be a mistake to make domestic energy
   decisions based on fears surrounding a tragedy in another nation.

References

   1. http://www.youtube.com/embed/5KzABEkkc10?rel=0

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