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American Morning
Quake and Tsunami Disaster; Nuclear Crisis Widens; Everyday Radiation Exposure; DEMs Take on Gun Control; Preschool Sued for Test Prep
Aired March 16, 2011 - 07:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Smoke rising from a nuclear power plant. Fears that a containment vessel may have been breached. And the U.S. Military risking radiation exposure as troops prepare to move into the disaster zone on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning. It's Wednesday, March 16th. I'm Christine Romans.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us.
We start with the latest on the crisis in Japan right now, the nuclear issue there. We do have new details about this large cloud of white smoke. It formed above the crippled Daiichi nuclear power plant and we're getting in pictures of those images of the smoke rising. It's believed that the containment vessel in reactor number three has been breached.
Senior international correspondent Stan Grant is live in Tokyo.
Do we know any more details on what they think may have caused that and what they think it is at this point, Stan?
STAN GRANT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, they don't. And that is the problem, Kiran. There are so many questions here that are not answered. You mentioned that white cloud of smoke. They are looking into exactly what has caused that and they are still working on whether this consumption vessel that surrounds the core of the nuclear reactor holding in the more nasty radioactive substances has, in fact, been breached.
This is an ongoing concern. They have assumptions what is happening but they can't get in and have a look at it. And remember as well, the workers from the plant today were forced to evacuate themselves and this was after a fire in reactor number four. There is a concern about a pool of spent fuel rods in there that maybe dangerous to be exposed and also contributing to radiation in the atmosphere.
Now, those workers did eventually come back. The numbers of those workers have swelled from 50 to 180, but the concern over radiation continues. In fact, in the city of Fukushima, the officials there say that they found traces of cesium and iodine in the water supply. Now, they were very, very low traces and officials say it posed no risk to people's health. In fact, you can drink that water.
But that's a very, very difficult message to tell people at this time with so much fear and are people going to believe what they are being told? That's the real question here, Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Stan Grant for us this morning in Tokyo -- thanks so much.
ROMANS: All right. Right now, Japan the death toll from Friday's earthquake and tsunami has climbed above 3,700, nearly 8,000 people are missing. Search and rescue teams, they still haven't made it to some of the hardest hit areas. They are being hampered by freezing temperatures and snow. Survivors, meanwhile, are struggling without water, food, and electricity right now.
CHETRY: And also, we continue to get dramatic new video out of Japan -- stunning images of the moment that the tsunami hit. We're seeing it from many different angles. Here is a new one. That wall of water coming through, as you can see, some people to the left of your screen are trying to get out of the way as quickly as possible. They are just down there.
And then you saw a flash of the hand on higher ground, videotaping all of that and must have been so surreal to have to sit there and watch that happen. They were wear of the devastation that was impending just a few hundred feet away and the danger they are about to face.
Meantime, the Japanese government is reportedly preparing to ask the United States for military help in dealing with this growing disaster.
Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is live with us from Washington this morning. You know, still looking at these pictures and I know they're days and days and days old. You just see how much -- how much of a challenge this is all going to be from the cleanup, to the relief, to finding survivors, and to helping people. And then you add in a nuclear aspect as well. It just seems like a lot for one country to have to deal with.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And that's why the U.S. military already is pitching in, Kiran. We just learned that the U.S. military has given the Japanese two water trucks to help try to cool that reactor that Stan was just reporting on.
From what we've been told from U.S. military sources, they trained a few of the Japanese workers at a U.S. base near Tokyo, and now, those workers have taken the trucks and are heading to that Fukushima nuclear plant.
Just take a look at the map now and let's show you a little bit about what the U.S. is doing to protect its own personnel. A lot of the ships have now moved further offshore and further north to get away from that downwind radioactive plume. But helicopter crews are still flying relief supplies, search and rescue missions near the nuclear plant.
The helicopter crews are being told to keep their sleeves rolled down, to keep the compartments closed off as much as possible. Some of the aircrew are now giving potassium iodide tablets to try to ward off any effects of radiation.
Down here, U.S. bases, not too much worry yet. But as precaution, you got tens of thousands of military families, personnel, civilians -- they're all being told to stay indoors as much as possible and to keep their external ventilation closed.
And as we switch to the other map, finally, we got several ships that were on their way to that area. They have now been rerouted to the Sea of Japan to keep them out of the way of that radioactive plume -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. A lot of concerns as you said, that these two water trucks, as you said, could prove to be crucial as they try to cool those rods. Thanks so much, Chris.
LAWRENCE: You're welcome.
CHETRY: Well, also new this morning -- forces loyal to Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi mounting a vigorous attack on the city of Misrata.
ROMANS: Check out this iReport. It shows Libya's army firing a rocket propelled grenade at rebel forces.
The United Nations Security Council is considering a draft resolution designed to put pressure on Libya's government. It includes a no-fly zone, along with an arms embargo, financial sanctions. But, you know, there are doubts whether the no-fly zone will be approved because, frankly, there's still confusion about who will implement it.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Egypt this morning. She made a surprise visit to Tahrir Square in Cairo. You remember, that was ground zero for the popular uprising that toppled long-time President Hosni Mubarak. She urged Egyptians to seize this opportunity and move forward as an Arab democracy.
Wolf Blitzer will sit down with Secretary Clinton this afternoon. Tune into "THE SITUATION ROOM" starting at 5:00 p.m. Eastern for that full interview.
CHETRY: Also, NASA officials are trying to find out who brought cocaine into the Kennedy Space Center. Officials say that 4.2 grams of the drug were found yesterday. This isn't the first time that cocaine has turned up at the space center. In fact, in January, a plastic bag with cocaine residue was found inside the hangar that housed space shuttle Discovery. The agency tested nearly 200 people but a source was never found.
CHETRY: All right. It's five minutes past the top of the hour. Let's get a quick check of the morning's weather headlines. For that, we have Jennifer Delgado back with us in Atlanta.
Good morning.
JENNIFER DELGADO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Christine. Good morning, Kiran. We'll head right over to the radar to get you out the door this morning.
The rain moving through the Northeast moving very quickly -- that's good news because that's going to take the rain with it. We're talking for the potential for any flooding for some of the areas that saw heavy rainfall earlier -- well, things are looking much better as that system is moving through.
You can see heavy rain coming through New York, as well as areas including parts of Boston. It's going to be heading in that direction.
Up towards the North, you're looking at a little bit of freezing rain as well as snow. But don't worry, that's going to be coming to an end fairly shortly the next couple of hours. You can see the temperatures are in upper 30s and 20s. Up towards the north, you see just a dusting of snow through New England.
On a wider view, the good news is temperatures are warming up across the U.S. We're talking from the South. That's going to be spreading over towards the East.
I'll tell you how warm those temperatures will get coming up in a short while. But I want to point out to you, Kiran and Christine, I would check some of the airport delays and right now, we're only reporting a five-minute delay out of Philadelphia. So, things are looking pretty good this morning.
ROMANS: All right. Jennifer Delgado -- thanks, Jennifer.
DELGADO: You're welcome.
CHETRY: Ahead, more on the widening nuclear disaster in Japan, including a look at one international agency that many say should be at the front and center of this crisis, but they have not been.
ROMANS: And in a stunning vote, a long time Miami mayor is out the door. We'll tell you what happened and how it happened.
It's six minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
We want to get you up-to-date on the latest on the nuclear situation using our magic wall. This is the Fukushima Daiichi plant right here, the four different reactors. And just to sort of give you a time line of what exactly happened -- it was Saturday that an explosion was detected just hours after officials revealed that radiation levels were at eight times their normal level in the reactor over here, reactor one. This is where they found these radiation levels high.
And here's the reason why. Let's take this and just show you what was happening inside of the reactor at the time and we're going to play it for you. Basically, when the power is cut, the water, which keeps things cool, ends up gradually going down. The fuel rods then become exposed and, at this point, control rods are supposed to rise up into the reactor to stop the reaction.
In this case, though, the fuel rods were still hot. And since the pumps failed, there was no water to cool it down. That's when the fuel rods reacted with the steam. Here's where you see the hydrogen pressure being created and thus the explosion that occurred.
So, then after dealing with that situation, come Sunday, they also confirmed that there was some radiation exposure. This was in three people that were randomly tested in the area.
Then let's head to Monday, where this problem is continuing to grow. And at this time, at reactor number three, they dealt with a problem. This was in the morning. The blast that damaged the cooling system -- that also happened at reactor number two. So, they had a problem again with the cooling system and trying to keep these fuel rods cool as the water gradually boiled over.
So here is Tuesday, yesterday. An explosion rocked the number two reactor. A fire again breaking out at the number four reactor and that fire then reportedly put out.
And then, today, we have yet another problem. A second fire discovered in the building that houses reactor number four.
And, Christine, of course, the other issue is that they are talking about this cloud of smoke rising again over this entire facility. And as we heard from Stan Grant, there are still a lot of questions as to what is causing that white cloud this morning.
ROMANS: That's right, Kiran. And as Japan's nuclear crisis widens, many people are simply wondering why no one has seen or heard from the International Atomic Energy Agency. The IAEA's mission is to promote the safe use of nuclear energy. They have offices in Tokyo and they're actually -- the press conference we're told scheduled for later today. So, we will hear more from the IAEA.
Jim Walsh is an international security analyst and a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joins us live from Boston this morning.
I want to talk, first, about new developments we have, Jim, new reporting there are now 180 power company workers at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
What is significance of the fact that it's 180 workers now and not 50 workers who we are told have been battling for the past couple of days?
JIM WALSH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think that's great news. You know, that's tripling the number of people on the ground working at these plants.
You know, my own opinion is that there's no way that you can take care of problems at six different plants with 50 workers. You know, that's just not sustainable.
And you can't have the workers working 24 hours a day. They're tired. They're being exposed to radiation. They are probably emotionally stressed like the rest of us are, times seven.
And when you're in that state, you're also going to be prone to making mistakes. So, my heart and sympathies go out to those people and glad they are putting more resources. I'd like to see even more resources put into the problem.
ROMANS: The chief cabinet secretary, Yukio Edano, says that -- about the radiation threat, between 20 and 30 kilometers in the plant does not pose a health threat. Are we getting consistent information about what the health threat is around this area at this point?
WALSH: Well, I don't think we're getting complete information. You know, they are making that assessment, but we don't know the basis on which that assessment is being made because we don't know -- we occasionally get a report that, as you said earlier, Christine, that there's a little bit of cesium here, or there's been a radioactive steam cloud there, but we don't know what is the composition of the radioactivity in that steam cloud -- what sort of radioactivity is, what isotopes they are, where they are traveling. You know, we have no maps here of what's happening.
So, we're sort of in the dark and it's hard to make assessments about whether the evacuation is at an appropriate level if we don't know the nature of the threat that's at the plant site.
CHETRY: And this is the other challenge here, twofold. First of all, these pictures that we're seeing where you saw this massive hole in a wall at the building and then significant deterioration of the roof. This is where apparently they were trying to drop in water, right, from these helicopters that they then aborted that mission because of the radiation levels. But, yet, at the same time, you're seeing these radiation levels surge and drop repeatedly.
So, what exactly does all of that mean?
WALSH: Well, Kiran, I wish I knew what it all meant and I'm sure the people at the plant wish they knew what it meant. You know, there are different hypothesis here, different possible explanations. And we don't have enough evidence to say one explanation is right and one explanation is wrong.
So -- we talked earlier about the containment vessel, first at one reactor, and now, at a second reactor being damaged. Now, the question is: what does damage mean? Because damage mean that it's cracked a little bit, that there's actually a hole in it, that radiation is leaking out. Those all present different possibilities.
One would think that if there had been a real breach in the containment vessel that the radiation would continue to leak out and might not spike and then decline, but, again, we just don't have enough information to be able to assess that, and the terms being used are vague enough that we can't really pinpoint what's going on.
ROMANS: And I think you're right. Breach and damage, the difference between those two things, I guess, we are not nuclear experts, so, you know, we hear breach, I assume, that means damage, you know? There are differences here. It's interesting because authorities say the latest smoke that we've seen may be caused by a containment vessel breach. Is that different than damage to the facility?
WALSH: Yes. Well, earlier in the week, as late as yesterday or last night, they were referring to damage, but, again, you know, there's also translation issues here, and we had that last night.
ROMANS: True.
WALSH: We had English translator of the statement by government official, and when he talked about suspension of workers, the translator missed the word temporary. You know, suspension --
ROMANS: Right.
WALSH: -- of the workers at the plant. Well, you know, that's all the difference in the world. You know, at the time, I thought there's no way they're just sending them home, but how do you know when on top of it being complex, on top of it us not having a lot of facts, and then, it's a moving situation, and on top of all of that, you know, they're in Japanese, we're in English, and everyone is trying to figure out what's going on.
ROMANS: And try to put nuclear terms, nuclear technology, layman's terms from Japanese into English and explain what it means. I can see the risk for misunderstanding.
CHETRY: Yes. We're all becoming quick studies on all of this, but that's why we need insight from experts on it like you, Jim. The other question is what -- and I asked this yesterday, too, but I guess, just, in terms of wondering what happens next, I mean, are they going to be getting help getting more water there?
I know you had said theoretically it's easy. They need to just put more water to keep these rods cool, but when are they going to have any indication that they're making progress on that front?
WALSH: Well, Kiran, I think you should ask this question every day. You know, because, every day, facts are changing. And so, we need to update ourselves and say what is the future look like. Apparently, every morning, we need to reassess what's happening. I think we're -- you're right. I said yesterday that, in theory, it's easy. You know, you just pour more water in, but in practice, there are problems because of high radiation levels.
The fact that some of these -- here I'm not talking about the containment vessel but near the spent fuel pump, perhaps, there are leaks or problems there because of -- and then broken pumps. How do you get access to it? You know if you drop it from a helicopter, is the water actually going to land where you want it to inside part of some building? So easy in theory, difficult in practice.
And I think as we go forward what we're -- you know, the good scenario here is that the three reactors that were working reactors, one, two, and three that have damaged -- you know, two of which may have damaged containment vessels. The hope is, that over time, they begin to cool down of their own accord, and that during that period, the workers are able to continue to pump water in there until it starts -- the heat starts to recede to a manageable level.
On the other three reactors, four, five, and six, where the problem is not the reactor but the spent fuel ponds and water declining and down, you know, and the fires, obviously, the deal there is, again, keeping water, fighting fires and keeping the radiation down so that you can then, you know, after having dealt with the reactors turn all of your attention to the spent fuel ponds. That's the good scenario
The bad scenario is, you know, that tomorrow was like today and the day before where each day, something new happens that you didn't expect and that it's not quite as bad as it first looks, but it's worse than it was before, and you have new complications. And you get pushed closer and closer to full breach of containment or a full fire of the spent fuel itself.
That's the nasty scenario. We're all rooting for the better scenario which ain't great, but it's, you know, what we should all be hoping for at this point.
CHETRY: All right. Jim Walsh for us, CNN contributor, international security analyst. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.
WALSH: Thank you.
ROMANS: In the meantime, a wild scene in Bahrain. Riot police using wild dangerous methods to drive out protesters. No one say it's because of the king's royal decree.
CHETRY: Also, states drowning in red ink could take the (INAUDIBLE) to their presidential primaries. Delaying or even cancelling them all together. We'll have details coming up.
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CHETRY: Well, we know police put their lives on the line everyday in the line of duty, but, you know, sometimes they have closer calls than others, and this was one of those times. Scary scene on a Missouri Highway where an officer on foot barely scrambled to safety to avoid being hit by a car. This patrol car was diverting traffic yesterday. This is an accident when, apparently, that guy wasn't looking, and he smashed right into the parked patrol car.
There you see it. The officer is on the left of the screen, we've highlighted, that he scrambled over that jersey wall just narrowly escaped getting mowed down. And the irony is that the police were responding to an earlier accident when that happened. Again, no one was seriously hurt.
ROMANS: That's really dangerous. If you ever have a flat tire or something, it's very dangerous on the side of the road because people don't pay attention.
CHETRY: People do not pay attention.
ROMANS: A lot of accidents happen that way.
OK. Miami-Dade has a new political playing field. Angry voters chose to oust long-time mayor, Carlos Alvarez, in a recall election. In fact, 88 percent agreed Alvarez must go. The recall crusade began after the mayor rose property taxes. He increased property taxes while increasing the salaries of his own aides. To make it official, the County Canvassing Board must approve. A special election will then be held for a replacement.
CHETRY: So, in the meantime, did the property taxes go back to the other levels or does a mayor have to enact it?
ROMANS: That's the thing. I mean, you know, if you don't have enough money, if you got to balance the books, you got to find the revenue somewhere, but I guess --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: That might not work so well for you.
ROMANS: Right.
CHETRY: Well, in this tough times, states are looking at ways to save money, and they've not turned their attention to the way that we nominate presidential candidates. Carmen Wong Ulrich joins us right now "Minding Your Business" this morning. This is interesting. I mean, nothing's off the chopping block, not even the 2012 presidential election!
CARMEN WONG ULRICH, PERSONAL FINANCE EXPERT: Not even, because when you have billion -- multibillion dollar deficits looking to cut wherever they can, states are looking to save by delaying their primaries and some canceling completely. Ten states and Washington, D.C. have approached (ph) delaying the 2012 presidential primaries or canceling Alabama passed a bill to move their primary from early February where it's been since 2008 back to early June to save merely $4 million.
Well, what about California? They are in deep in debt. So, there's a bill introduced to do the same. Their saving is $100 million. And Kansas which has canceled every single primary since 1992, well, in 2012, they say they're going to save $1.3 million, but on the flip side, Florida and South Carolina want their primaries earlier. They feel it's worth it for the media attention and nice bump in hotel and restaurant spending and some local temp jobs for campaign workers.
CHETRY: See, that's interesting. So, it's an ironic. It's sort of tale of two states, if you will, because some of those states that are now rolling them back or delaying them are the ones that wanted them earlier because they said we're not relevant because --
ULRICH: Exactly. They want to be out there.
CHETRY: Right.
ULRICH: And they do make money in terms of the hotels and spending locally, so --
ROMANS: You know, people complain, too, about how long the whole election season is. It's so long.
ULRICH: Yes, it's very long.
ROMANS: In UK, it's like six weeks or something. You know, from the day you announce your candidacy to the day of the election. So, here, it's what, two years, two and a half years, how interesting -- and we always say it's because of money because they raised all of this money. How ironic that it's because of money that we shorten our election process.
(CROSSTALK)
ULRICH: From February to -- you know, not that much of a push.
CHETRY: Right. Just for people who are wondering, quickly, how do you save money just by delaying it? How does that save money just by delaying it?
ULRICH: Because of all the infrastructure that needs to be in place to handle the incoming people for the primary like the media, like the campaign workers. There's a lot of infrastructure there that the state has to pay for.
ROMANS: Overtime for cops and stuff like --
ULRICH: Cops, everything. Yes.
ROMANS: All right. Carmen Wong Ulrich. Thanks, Carmen.
ULRICH: Thank you.
ROMANS: Up next on AMERICAN MORNING, sticker shock. We're going to talk to the man who correctly predicted gas prices would rise 32 plus cents in the past few weeks. He was so right. He told you right here. So, where does he think prices are headed next?
CHETRY: He also gained international notoriety when he kidnapped his daughter leading a double live impersonating a member of the Rockefeller clan. Now, there's a new twist in the case of the world- class conman known as Crockefeller.
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CHETRY: We're crossing the half hour right now and time to get you updated on our top stories. Choppers -- and we've talked this -- have been attempting to fly over reactor number three at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Plant in Japan, and they have been called back because of radiation fears. They've seen elevated levels, so they told these choppers they had to stop at the time they were trying to drop water to help in the cooling situation there.
Meanwhile, there's been another fire at reactor number four. A cloud of white smoke rising over the facility, and there are more questions about exactly what is causing that cloud of smoke. We still have not been able to answer that this morning.
In the meantime, he has been dubbed "Crockefeller," German conman Christian Karl Gerhartsreiter. He took on many identities including that of Clark Rockefeller, claiming he was part of the Rockefeller clan. There's another twist in this story. He has now been charged with killing his former California landlord John Sohuse back in 1985. Sohuse's wife also vanished around that time. Gerhartsreiter is already locked up for the kidnapping of his daughter in 2008. He is up for parole next year.
Now, violent protests in Manama, Bahrain, continue as thousands of pro-democracy supporters hit the streets only to be hit back by batons and rubber bullets and tear gas as security forces try to crush that rally. Riot police even storming the area's main hospital according to witnesses and reportedly beating staffers.
At least two protesters killed and hundreds killed and protesters are pushing for political reform from the country's ruling Sunni leaders. This comes a day after Bahrain's king imposed a three-month state of emergency decree.
ROMANS: Next guest correctly predicted a 30 cent rise in gas prices and so we wanted to get his latest predictions. Joining me now is Peter Beutel, oil industry analyst. Peter, first of all, you perfectly correctly predicted this recent rice in gas prices. They have been up 20 days in a row and now down two days in a row. Where do they go from here?
PETER BEUTEL, AUTHOR, "SURVIVING ENERGY PRICES": Right now, we have got a 20 cent cushion so they are not going to go any higher right this minute. If prices stay exactly where they are, which they won't, but if they did, we would see prices at the pump come down 15 to 20 cents from here. Probably what is going to happen is that we are going to see continuing volatility. You've got the Japanese situation pulling prices down.
ROMANS: And that is because it's a big economy that is offline essentially, so all of that demand for oil, at least right now, is offline. But the Middle East is still a problem and Bahrain, a small country, reminds us, I think as you point out, the 60 percent of the world's reserves are there in an area of conflict. BEUTEL: That is the bottom line. You've got the Saudis, the UAE, Kuwait, Iran, and Iraq, Bahrain and Qatar and Oman, they sit on 65 percent of the planet's proven reserves. As long as that area is filled with unrest, we are going to see some upward pressure on oil prices.
Very strong season for prices to move higher from March 15th through the middle of May, so those are factors that are going to prevent that 20 cents all of it from getting back to consumers.
ROMANS: Right. You say a 20 cent cushion but heading into the driving season. Some other oil industry analysts telling me maybe $3.50 to $3.75 is the peak range heading spring into summer. Would you agree with that?
BEUTEL: It depends where. We have seen hem over $4 here in Connecticut.
ROMANS: Yes.
BEUTEL: I would say probably $3.85 is going to be the peak and I'd go a little bit higher than the $3.50, that $3.60, $3.85 will be the range. Hawaii, Connecticut, California will probably see $4.
ROMANS: But no more big 30 cents in two or three weeks moves? The real painful part of this thing has already happened?
BEUTEL: I think so. Of course, if anything happens with the Saudis, if we were to see what we're seeing in Bahrain in Saudi Arabia, then 30 cents would be a walk in the park because we'd get moves even bigger than that.
But, yes, I would say that as long as things don't get any worse. Last Friday, they had a day of rage that was really a day of petunias. So nothing bad happened. As long as we're on that course, we should be OK and the biggest spikes would be behind us, yes.
ROMANS: Peter Beutel, quote of the day, day of petunias. Thanks so much. So there you go, Kiran. The worst might be behind us in terms of that.
The threat of radiation exposure in Japan is causing concern here in the U.S. but experts say we are exposed to some radiation every day. Up next, find out where it comes from and if it could cause you harm.
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ROMANS: It's 37 minutes past the hour.
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ROMANS: All right, the Second Amendment, it can be controversial. The interpretation can be -- for a while gun control has been a political loser for Democrats. That could be changing. We will tell you why. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Americans along the west coast are worried about possible radiation exposure from Japan. We have heard anecdotal reports about people buying those iodide tablets and online sellers cleared out literally. Experts say there is a possibility wind could blow activity across the Pacific Ocean, but how much damage will it do?
ROMANS: After September 11th there was a run on those as well because people were concerned about dirty bombs and an attack on nuclear facilities. You can see it happens in terms of concern about radiation.
Look, would they work? It's unclear. U.S. health officials say iodide simply does not work. Some nuclear physicists say it does flood the thyroid, but U.S. officials say and they do not expect the radiation rise above what we are already exposed to anyway. Here to talk about that is Deb Feyerick.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Everybody is concerned about this. But we are exposed to this every single day. It's in the air, it's in the soil. It's in rocks. Just wherever we go we see different levels of radiation. The television sets here, it's in cigarettes, secondhand smoke, fertilizers and, of course, x-rays.
Now even when you fly you're also exposed. For example a flight from New York to Los Angeles that's about half the amount of the chest x-ray and even that is still very, very small. The body over time has absorb, process and neutralize background radiation.
So the amount of radiation you and he absorb every year registered an average level of about 6.2 millisieverts. That is how it's measure. Half of that comes from x-ray like you get at the dentists. Nuclear plant workers allowed a minimum of 50 millisieverts. Readings at the facility in Japan are registering at 400, an amount the body would absorb safely two and a half hours. After that, it could be deadly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JAMES THRALL, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN COLLEGE OF RADIOLOGY: It's not like resting on the sidelines of a football game. Once you've had that amount of radiation and you've reached the limit, it's a cumulative effect. So just imagine you were in the sun and you realized you had a horrible sunburn. So you came into the shade. Well, you would be very foolish to go right back out into the sun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: Out who were in that nuclear facility to give them a break. Chances of dangerous levels of reduce coming to the United States are very slim, experts say. For those in Japan, the greatest lasting danger is not the air, it's the nuclear fallout on the ground.
At Chernobyl, people got sick because of radioactive particles in the food chain. Cows consumed contaminated grass and water and thousands of children that came down with thyroid cancer just by drinking the milk.
And something else to keep in mind in terms of overall exposure; Dr. James Thrall, our expert points out the explosions that were seeing at the facility, they're not atomic explosions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JAMES THRALL, PROFESSOR, COLLEGE OF RADIOLOGY: Nuclear reactors are not designed so that they can even explode the way a bomb does. They are deliberately built with a lower level of radioactive materials and it could never reach a critical mass and explode the way an atomic bomb does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: We tend to think of those grueling images of Hiroshima. The area around the plant is now a hot zone and it's going to take many, many years to clean up, as many as five to ten years. And even that it may never be habitable so they're really going to have a huge massive ordeal once this cools down.
ROMANS: And it depends on what radioactive material it is. Is it a cesium, is it iodine -- well, you know, and -- and there are different kinds of radioactive materials and different weights and different densities. Some are dispersed in the atmosphere, some stick in the soil so it will be a long time before we figure out what that -- what that fallout will be.
FEYERICK: That's exactly right and how many people are affected.
ROMANS: All right, Deb Feyerick, thanks, Deb.
CHETRY: Thanks Deb.
ROMANS: Well, there are some hot button issues in the past Democrats have tried to avoid; one of them, gun control for sure.
CHETRY: That's right. But it's beginning to look like Democrats are ready to tackle this issue. Our Jim Acosta, live in Washington with more on this. Hey Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys. You know for years Democrats have been gun shy about taking on gun control but that may be changing in the House. Democrats have introduced a bill that would beef up the instant background checks for gun buyers that would close the so-called gun show loophole that allows buyers to get around background checks at gun shows.
Take a look at this, the bill would also stiffen penalties for states that don't forward criminal mental health and other pertinent records to the National Instant Background Check System. That's interesting because Jared Loughner, the suspect in the Tucson shooting, he also was able to get around on some of those holes in the system. And all of this follows a call from President Obama for similar measures in an op-ed that appeared in a Arizona newspaper last weekend. It is a risky move for Democrats though, who normally stay clear of the powerful gun lobby in Washington, the NRA.
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ACOSTA (on camera): Are you concerned that this issue -- raising this issue could make Democrats vulnerable in the next election? Make the President vulnerable in the next election?
REP. CAROLYN MCCARTHY (D), NEW YORK: No. Because if you look at any poll you want to look at the majority of Americans and the majority of gun owners all feel people should go through background checks. That is undisputed by anybody.
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ACOSTA: Another development over the next couple of weeks, Justice Department officials are holding meetings with gun control advocates and there are hopes that some NRA officials would join them, but the top man at the NRA told me he has yet to receive an invitation and also adds he's not going anyway.
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WAYNE LAPIERRE, CEO, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION: Why should I go sit down with a bunch of people that spent their life trying to destroy the Second Amendment? I understand what's going on. I mean, this is a political maneuver.
ACOSTA (on camera): Aren't they trying to find some common ground?
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LAPIERRE: They say they are.
Look, I understand -- what's happening here is very transparent. The President's political base, anti-Second Amendment political base is screeching and he is trying to appease them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now, two months after the tragedy in Tucson gun control advocates believe the public is now on their side. A new poll out from "Newsweek" and the "Daily Beast" finds 86 percent -- yes, 86 percent of Americans support background checks for all gun buyers. That is an indication of strong support for closing the gun show loophole and something gun control advocates have been trying to do for a long time -- Kiran and Christine.
ROMANS: All right, Jim Acosta, thanks Jim.
ACOSTA: You bet. CHETRY: Still ahead -- Jim has young kids and you and I do -- at what age is too young to start prepping them for their future in the Ivy Leagues? Well, one New York mom felt it was never too early. She is actually suing her daughter's preschool because she said she paid nearly $20,000 grand and this child was supposed to be prepping for college. Instead, she was left playing with children half her age.
It's 50 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Well, could a preschool make or break your child's chances of getting into an Ivy League university? And if so, can you sue? Well, one Manhattan mother seems to think so. She's actually is suing her daughter's preschool, Daughter's School asking them to refund their $19,000 tuition because she claims her child was not challenged at school and was grouped in with 2-year-olds instead of prepping for a standardized test used to get into New York's elite private schools; private schools that are considered to be feeders to the Ivies. So does she have a legitimate case?
Legal contributor Sunny Hostin joins us to break it down. And it's interesting because you are going to be wearing two hats. You are a lawyer and you're dealing with these types of things --
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.
CHETRY: -- whether or not people have cases but you're also a mom.
HOSTIN: But I'm a mom.
CHETRY: And you -- and you do have your kids going to schools that are preps for Ivies?
HOSTIN: I do right here -- here in New York. I grew up in New York, Kiran. And I do have my kids in these Ivy League prep schools. They are called the Ivy League Preparatory Leagues Schools.
CHETRY: Right, so for people who this is so for -- and I grew up in Maryland, I didn't know anything about this but we were looking on the Web sites of one of these nursery schools and they basically say on their site these are the high schools that your kids --
(CROSS TALK)
HOSTIN: And they're some of the best in the country.
CHETRY: Right. And then these are the Ivy League schools that the kids have gone on to.
HOSTIN: Right.
CHETRY: I mean it seems that that's an enormous amount of pressure not only for the parent but for the child. HOSTIN: I -- I will tell you having gone through this admissions process I felt the way I felt when I got into law school when my son got into one of these schools. It's extremely stressful and it's hypercompetitive but I think the larger question is people are saying that our public school system is broken and if our public school system is broken, what is the alternative? The alternative would be these private schools and that is why it's so competitive, Kiran.
When I look at this case, I mean, my son is supposed to be prepped for the Ivy League. If he doesn't get in, I may sue. I may do something like that. Because you have an expectation and you're paying for that expectation. I pay $37,000 for third grade.
Yes, it's absurd. It's ridiculous but we want to give our kids the best possible and statistically these schools are the best possible.
Now, she sued on two counts. She sued for deceptive advertising, deceptive practices. Did they say they were going to prep for kids, for the ERBs, which is the admission test? It's like the baby SATs and they didn't? If they didn't, she has a case because she expected that and she anticipated that and she paid for it and she didn't get it. It's sort of like false advertising.
CHETRY: Right. So that's what I want to ask you about. Part of it seems like it was a little hyperbolic to say that her kid isn't going to get to the Ivies. Did they put that in there just to garner a little bit of attention because this has certainly gotten a lot of attention?
HOSTIN: Well, I don't know. They are supposed to prep your kids for the Ivy League.
CHETRY: Right. And so what she is saying happened is that instead her 4-year-old was lumped in a classroom with two children and they were clearly not learning on the same level. They were half the age of her child and she felt, I'm not paying $19,000 for them to stack up blocks and color.
HOSTIN: It's one big playroom as opposed to a preparatory school. You know, prepping for these ERBs. I think what's also though problematic is she sues for fraudulent misrepresentation. In order to prove that legally you got to prove you were injured. We don't know that the 4-year-old was injured.
CHETRY: Right. It's almost like the "Minority Report". How do you go forward in time and see whether or not she is going to make it into an Ivy League school or not.
HOSTIN: Exactly. I mean we all hope that our children are these baby geniuses. Maybe her daughter would never get into the Ivy League prep schools and would never get into the Ivy League. But I really think that her first claim, which is sort of this false advertising. I went on the Web site. They say they are going to prep the kid for the ERBs. If they did not do that, hey, she may get $19,000 back.
CHETRY: So, she may get her money back.
You're just saying that the one hard thing to prove is prove that, you know, somehow there was damage done.
HOSTIN: Right. From her second claim. Let me also say this though. She sues not only on behalf of herself but on behalf of a class of people. So all the other people that applied to this school and went to this school and perhaps didn't get into these Ivy League preparatory schools, these elementary schools that go all the way through high school, hey they may be joining her. Best bet for this school, just pay her $19,000 back and settle this case and move on.
CHETRY: The other larger issue that this brings up is -- I mean we talk constantly about failing schools, about public schools being forced to close down about class sizes and concerns about teachers. It seems like we just have a huge disparity in this country of the have and have not's when it comes to education.
HOSTIN: Yes.
CHETRY: It's terrifying.
HOSTIN: It's terrifying. It's not fair. And again, I think that is why many parents like myself make the decision to spend this exorbitant amount of money, to work so hard to be able to pay for this type of education because what are the choices?
I mean, I've spoken to Steve Perry who is the education contributor and he says the stats are there. Public schools are failing. What do we do about that? That is really the larger question.
Why do I have to put my kid or why do I feel like I have to put my children in these schools because I don't feel that the public schools are doing their jobs.
CHETRY: Well, you were very honest about your situation and I'm sure you'll get a ton of e-mails about this.
HOSTIN: I am. I am.
CHETRY: In full disclosure. What I did was I got the heck out of New York City. I was petrified at the prospect of auditioning my kid for preschool so we moved to the burbs. We'll see what happens.
HOSTIN: And we'll see what happens. I mean it's a horrible, horrible process. I will say that. Very competitive process and I feel for my children having had to go through that.
CHETRY: Well, Sunny, it was great to get your take on all of this. Thanks so much. Great to see you, as always.
HOSTIN: Thanks. CHETRY: We're going to take a quick break. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.
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CHETRY: So we were chatting with Sunny Hostin about whether or not, you know, you send your kid on the track to Ivy League starting in preschool. I mean most people scratch their heads and think that's a little bit crazy.
ROMANS: Well, her education bills will be more than the average family income is per year. What do you think about that? So it really puts into perspective what people go through for a good education. And as you said, it puts a real spotlight on the rest of the education system and how it's ineffective.
CHETRY: It sure does and we'd love for you to weigh in on our blog this morning about the story.
And thanks so much for being with us. We'll be back here bright and early for AMERICAN MORNING, tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.
ROMANS: "CNN NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello starts right now. Hi Carol.
