DIGITAL GLOBE REUTERS/Digital Globe/Handout
The No.3 nuclear reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant at Minamisoma is seen burning after a blast following an earthquake and tsunami in this handout satellite image taken Monday
When things got too dangerous at the Fukushima Nuclear Plant, some 800 workers were evacuated. But between 50 and 70 are staying behind, fighting the fire, trying to cool the reactors with sea water, and selflessly risking their lives with no guarantee of escaping the effects of radiation. Coming up, Lawrence talks with a former Energy Department senior advisor about the true danger those workers face. Remember, if you'd like to help the relief effort, there are a number of resources available.
UPDATE: 11:45 P.M. EDT: Workers have suspended operations and evacuated Wednesday after a surge in radiation made it too dangerous to remain there, dealing a setback to Japan’s frantic efforts to stem a nuclear crisis. Stay with MSNBC and NBC News for updates.
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Why are you and everyone speaking theoretically about this?? Why have you not gotten together--MIT,CalTech,other brilliant minds-IMMEDIATELY and form a team to FIX THIS NOW!! They are the most brilliant minds on earth--GET THEM OVER THERE NOW!! Talking about the next ten years here is fine, but THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXED TONIGHT!! GET THESE GUYS ON IT AND OVER THERE!!
Amen. There must be something, if nothing more than capping the whole damned thing ... like the BP disaster! The Soviets encapsulated Chernobyl in cement several feet thick. The unfortunate reality is however, if the leakage is bad enough already, no one will ever be able to return to there homes.
I think being there at this point is a death sentence.
Boo! Bill Richardson is talking out of the abundance of his ignorance - talking about the number that represents the power of the earthquake. He wants us to say "prayers" for the victims, yet he still supports nuclear power because it's "clean". Boo!
See above!
Don't be so negative on such a human disaster story. Let's pray for our friends in Japan.
See my first comment! I want to send help! Recruit --TONIGHT-our best minds and experts and maybe send them in on Air Force 1 and while they are on the way have them gather whatever resources they need to fix this before it becomes totally out of control. Cement? Steel? Whatever! Gather the best on the planet! Remember after the first Gulf War we sent in Red Adair to extinguish the oil field fires? Send in the nuclear Red Adair! Now!
The Last Word entirely missed the point with Teapublicans stating The IRS and SEC should be big targets of the deficit cuts. The program emphasis was the cuts are stupid; the IRS and SEC actually are make profits - for every dollar spent ten dollars are taken in form cheats.
The real reason Teapublicans want to make cuts in these agencies is to take the ability to collect money from the Teapublican masters, The wealthy and corporations, more difficult; more money gets to be kept because there are not enough people to collect it.
The meltdown is an apocalyptic tragedy, but it is nothing like what will happen if the Republicans win this fracas in Wisconsin, the American worker, who has lost so much ground under the Reaganomics plan, is the major supporter of the world economy. While we should buy only American, we support everyone else, yet the Republicans want to take even more away. However this isn't the only problem. "United we Stand," will become extinct. Would YOU fight for Someone who takes you rights away, who, takes your home away, the food from your mouth, to quote John Boehner "HELL NO" The republicans claim that they are trying to spread Democracy around the world, they are (not trying) killing it here. We need coverage ON Wisconsin. and the conservative owned media is not going to do it.
Conserative owned media? Almost all of this countrys newspapers and magazines are extremly liberal . Every television network except one is liberal. Elections have consequences!Do you actually believe whats going on in Wisconsion is more of a tragedy then the Quake in Japan? Your pathetic!
If that were true, how come we don't hear about Wisconsin, how the conservative government is cozing up to big insurance, big oil and big pharma. G.E. is not liberal, neither is Disney or sony. and yes,I do. When your conservatives kill osha, or cut safty standards, like they already claim they will, even a 3.0 earthquake will cave buildings in, but your conservatives only care about letting the money people win. If it was liberal owned we would here about how obama's healthcare is already saving the country money, instead we keep hearing Boehner caliming its not. we would here about how the stimulas is actually working, we don't but the people who claim it isn't are the ones that have their hands in it. We hear about how the high speed rail project in the west is from the Chicken house to Disneyland according to Ms Bachmann and that it will cost bilions of dollars. we don't hear the truth, from the conservative run papers, that the highspeed rail project from Vegas, shouvel ready, will be paid for by Vegas, they even have paid standby crews for the last ten years to get started.I don't cast blame on who's stopping it, but Vages has to get by the indians first. If the conservatives can stop the unions and kill building standards, and regulate even necessety in live, inculding prescription drugs, food water, then the world death toll will be far worse then what is happening in Japan whos standards for their power plants were also bidded down by Japan's conservatives.
Don't hear about Wisconsin? It has dominated the news the past 10 weeks . G.E. is not liberal? don't they own NBC.MSNBC,CNBC ? are they not promoting Obama and cap and trade (they stand to make billions). Healthcare that 26 states don't want and are sueing to stop. Do you live under a rock?
This is obviously a tragedy that continues to get worse by the hour. Most American reporters seem to be having a bird about the release of radiation, and worry if the same could happen to any of our reactors. Sure it could happen here. Now people are buying iodine tablets and radiation detectors; yet I think these same people haven't given a single thought about the fact that we have a few thousand nuclear bombs any one of which if used would release thousands of times more radiation than Japan's Daiichi's potential release.
Bless the people of Japan. This is also a good time for America to take a good look at how we are running things here. We have nuke plants that are out dated. You want smaller government. Guess what is being cut.???? People of America better take a good look out their back door and see what is going on. The very wealthy will build their bunkers. The rest of us are dead unless we get with reality of what is actually going on. When you have to start buying Iodine pills its to late. As they say pay now or PAY later. Pay with your life or someone elses? The me me me me generation has just about killed us. Time to become the UNITED States of America again. Who do we think we are telling other countries how to live? When we the united states of america can not even take care of our own people.... Greed & power is distroying us all. Who said," Money is the root of all EVIL..?"
Agree totally - they don't want those taxes collected. Lawrence should ask Rachel, she had a program that showed that for every dollar we spend on the IRS, we collect many, many more - it more than pays for itself. And the SEC? Please.
Today on Jansing and Co. they had some idiot "EXPERT" on named jay leher from the heartland institute. During the on air interview this idiot made the comment that even if the situation in japan became like chernobyl that even then the loss of life would not be horrific like Hiroshima. He quoted a UN study that was conducted 10 years after the event that said only 1,000 people died.
In the past several years as the soviet union fell and documents became unclassified it has been clearly proven that both the Russian and Western governments did not tell the public just how bad things were. they allowed people to continue to live in badly contaminated areas as far away as France. Many russian documents that have become public detail how the government drastically lied to the public about how bad things were and how many people died
The current widely accepted number of dead from chernobyl now is above 40k with another documented 200k sick. this number does not include the 10k + babies born with deformities. to this day in parts of belorussia and the ukraine people STILL live in contaminated lands and eat contaminated foods...this is not in dispute.
what this idiot who was presented as an "expert" on MSNBC said was an insult to the 10s of thousands of people who gave their lives to stop the disaster and the hundreeds of thousands of innocent people that STILL suffer the consequences of that day.
I find it highly insulting to let this persons statements go uncorrected and I think someone at MSNBC needs to issue an apology and correction. It would be like having a WWII expert come on and say that the holocaust was nothing more then a few people of jewish faith dying as part of the war and that the actual numbers were closer to 2,000 dead. I doubt anyone would let that comment stand, nor should we let this. if you want to see one of the best documentaries on Chernobyl there is a free link to the movie here http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-battle-of-chernobyl/
I just don't "get" recent developments. The Japanese have pulled their last brave 50 volunteer workers from the site. Earlier, they forbad helicopter flights over the reactor to dump cooling water. The US has pulled all of its forces back 50 miles. Why? Is the current strategy to just let it burn and deal with an aftermath that could affect multiple tens of thousands/millions? On whose decision and on what humanitarian basis was this done? Is it a scientific, or a political, or an insurance calculation?
Most of the immediate radiation casualties at Chernobyl were those who kept working and flying copters to dump water and concrete. While there is debate about the exact number of future deaths, deformities, and cancers there, few will argue that, but for the sacrifice of those few, it would have been much worse.
Thousands of US service people risk their lives everyday in the Mideast for those they've never met. On 9/11, our own first-responders risked, and too often lost, their own lives just to drag a 70-year old woman in a wheelchair down 60 stories to safety. What the heck were all these people thinking? I feel sorry for you if you don't know.
As I said, I don't get it. If people "on-site" could make a difference, many thousands of Japanese, if allowed, would volunteer in a heartbeat. If asked, thousands of US service people would volunteer to go in as well. If I could, I'd be there; not wife and kids be damned but, because I trust that someone else would do the same if I wasn't around, for my wife and kids. Buck up.