welcome back to hardball. a setback today in japan s nuclear disaster. smoke emanating from reactors number two and three resulted in workers being evacuated and efforts to get plant under control were halted. radiation contamination for the crippled plant has affected area food supply and trace radiation has been found in the sea water around there. nbc s lee townsend in seoul, korea, with the latest. lee, it seems like a bad day in terms of this nuclear problem over there. reporter: well, it was. they were making some progress. they were happy about the fact they restored power. they were happy that some of the reactors, number five and six, weren t really a big issue early on are now considered stable but then all of a sudden we had smoke from reactor number two. not sure what it was. they evacuated the workers. about two hours later the smoke dissipated. they thought everything was okay and then more smoke started coming from reactor number two. they re still not exactly sure
welcome back to hardball. a setback today in japan s nuclear disaster. smoke emanating from reactors number two and three resulted in workers being evacuated and efforts to get plant under control were halted. radiation contamination for the crippled plant has affected area food supply and trace radiation has been found in the sea water around there. nbc s lee townsend in seoul, korea, with the latest. lee, it seems like a bad day in terms of this nuclear problem over there. reporter: well, it was. they were making some progress. they were happy about the fact they restored power. they were happy that some of the reactors, number five and six, weren t really a big issue early on are now considered stable but then all of a sudden we had smoke from reactor number two. not sure what it was. they evacuated the workers. about two hours later the smoke dissipated. they thought everything was okay and then more smoke started
people? to the environment would be if there is any continuing radiation contamination, it probably would be locally where the ground and cesium would remain for it has a half life of 30 years. it would be around for some time. the radioactive iodines have a half life of eight days. so in three or four months, they are all going to be gone. that won t be an issue. for the environment and perhaps a little bit in the food supply, the japanese government will have to be monitoring what the levels might be in the environment near reactors. with regard to the health effects, probably the largest effect will be psychological. that people will have been concerned that they were exposed, they were evacuated. it follows after this terrible tragedy where the earthquake, the tsunami. many, many thousands of people have died. the bodies washing on the shores.
places like russia and other countries had to wait on o the tarmac outside of the country before even being flown in here before getting to thatair area. that rare is a rack that area racked by the earthquake, roads and transportation just beginning to get up. a daunting task there. the work is in process. yes, it is picking up stream oofof desperate lot of december people there right now, judge. judge jeanine: we are are joined by the past president of physicians for social responsibility and the director of the heartland institute. i willle go to you, first, ira. can you tell us how concerned we should be about this radiation contamination? are. i think we should be moderately concerned. the levels at the moment are effectow so the health
unfortunately, it s just part of a much bigger picture. okay. and the latest on trying to control the problems at the nuclear reactor, what s the latest there? reporter: everything is looking, if not better, at least good. as you said, that reactor number 3 that they thought they were going to have to vent some radioactive steam today, and that concern went away, and you go down another six reactors that are at the site, and there s good news, or at least hopeful news, at each one of them. and i think that nuclear experts will say that there could be a surprise any time now, and it could get worse again. but all of these rods are getting cooler by themselves every day, unless they started other nuclear reaction, which is getting to be less and less likely. so, this situation, with every passing day, it has a chance of at least resolving with less release of radiation. does that extend to the fears about radiation contamination in the food?