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Choppers Drop Water on Reactor; U.S. Begins Evacuation in Japan

Aired March 17, 2011 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. on the West. I'm Carol Costello, sitting in for Kyra Phillips.

We begin in Japan. Helicopters and fire trucks move in and pour water on an overheating reactor site. It is the latest desperate attempt to reduce radiation levels at the damaged nuclear plant. And so far it does not appear to be working.

The U.S. begins evacuating the families of its diplomatic staff, and it will help other American citizens get out of the affected areas. The U.S. suggests that area may be quite a bit larger than Japan is willing to admit.

In the meantime, the death toll from the earthquake and tsunami is rising yet again. The latest numbers, more than 5,400 are confirmed dead, 10,000 officially reported missing.

CNN crews are in place. Stan Grant, Sanjay Gupta in Tokyo. They'll talk about the leaking radiation and the threat it poses to the public. And Jill Dougherty is at the White House with new efforts to get Americans out of harm's way. But let's begin with you, Stan. I mean, these water drops seem like a last-ditch effort to cool the reactor, to prevent a meltdown. But I don't know, it just seems more like an act of desperation.

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are trying everything they can, Carol. There's no doubt about that. You know, they've tried sea water. Now they're coming from the air and also from the ground off the back of water trucks. Helicopters were used. There were four helicopter dumps. Then they moved to the ground. They moved in about half a dozen water trucks, and they were bombarding these reactors with water to try to cool them down.

That is what it's all about here, trying to get these reactors under control and stop the radiation leaking into the atmosphere. We heard from the nuclear safety agency this afternoon. They were seeing that reactors one, five, and six are relatively stable. The problem is with two, three, and four, especially three and four, they are considering damage to the containment vessel, perhaps allowing some of the dangerous radioactive material in the core of the reactor to seep out. In the event of a full-blown meltdown. Then reactor four, the problem is a pool of water.

The fear is that the water is actually evaporating and it's exposing spent fuel rods, very dangerously. And again, the risk of pumping more radiation into the air. According to the Nuclear Safety Agency, the radiation level has been dropping. At the gate of the plant today, it was less than the rate of some x-rays you may have. The problem is convincing people about that. There is a big trust deficit here between what the government is telling them and what people are prepared to believe. Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, it's difficult to know what to take away from that, Stan. I mean, what's the best case scenario here?

GRANT: The best case scenario is that they can actually cool these reactors down to a point where they can go in, assist the damage, and ultimately shut them down effectively. That's what they really want to do. Every time they try to get close, though, they have another mishap. There will be an oxygen explosion, or a fire, or another partial meltdown of those exposed fuel rods. Trying to keep the water pumped in at a certain level. That is absolutely key.

What they're trying to do now is attach to an external power source. If they can do that, they can get those containment processes actually working again. Let the cooling processes working again rather, and then really do some work on getting this whole situation under control. Carol.

COSTELLO: OK. We'll keep our fingers crossed and our toes and everything else. Stan Grant, live in Tokyo. Thank you.

The faceless 50 has become the faceless 100. They are on site at that damaged Fukushima plant, putting their lives on the line to avoid a full-scale nuclear disaster.

Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is also in Tokyo. So Sanjay, tell us about these workers, what gear they're using, and if it will really protect them.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's remarkable work, Carol. I mean, we don't know a lot of the specifics of what's happening inside the plant and most particularly, the radiation levels. We know that there's no power. So they're probably doing a lot of this in the darkness or using flashlights. They're wearing some protective gear, Carol, maybe suits like this that seal around the ankles and the neck and then they're wearing a mask that can provide some protection.

But again, the most dangerous types of radiation, the gamma rays that we've been talking so much about, they penetrate just about everything. I mean, you can measure just how much radiation you're getting using certain devices like these. But Carol, I mean, this is what they do for a living. So they know -- well, you know, just how dangerous this is. And yet they have a lot of work to do, and they're including putting out fires, dealing with explosions, changing valves, and as Stan said, trying to cool down these fuel rods.

So it's remarkable work. And you know, there's a good chance that they are exposing themselves pretty significantly to radiation. We know how high it's been outside the plant. It's been higher presumably inside the plant. Carol.

COSTELLO: I know. We just heard from the wife of one of the workers working at the plant. He sent her an e-mail and said, "live life fully. I will be here a long time." Just so sad.

I also want to talk about this -- the government telling Americans within 50 miles of the plant to move. So what dangers exist for people still inside that 50-mile zone?

GUPTA: Yes, and I should point out, you know, the 50 miles was the U.S. government recommendation. 20 kilometers, the Japanese official recommendation as far as the size of the evacuation zone. Same data, different recommendations, point that out, Carol. Just to show you that this is -- there's a conflicting and somewhat arbitrary to some extent recommendation being made. The concern is people could develop radiation sickness.

If you get a high dose of radiation, you can develop symptoms that really act on all the quickly replicating cells in your body, in your intestines, get bleeding, you get nausea, you get vomiting. You lose your hair, you get rashes on your skin. Longer term, there's a concern about increasing your likelihood of developing cancer.

You know, Carol, there's not a lot of data on this sort of thing. To study this, you'd have to knowingly expose people to radiation so they base a lot of what I'm telling you on previous things like Chernobyl and trying to extrapolate that. Obviously that was a totally different situation. So it's hard to know exactly what the effects would be. But these are some of the assumptions made on past history.

COSTELLO: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, many thanks, live in Tokyo.

Tens of thousands of Americans live in Japan, and evacuations are now underway for some of them. The U.S. is chartering flights for the families of its diplomatic staff there, and Washington is vowing to help other Americans, as well.

CNN's foreign affairs correspondent, Jill Dougherty, has the latest on this. So I guess the other thing I'm wondering about this, I know the families of diplomats are going home on these American chartered planes. But what about the families of military personnel living in Japan?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they also can take advantage of these flights. But I think the military is kind of handling it in a slightly different way. They, of course, have -- I guess you could say more worked out methods of moving their people around. But the State Department certainly is -- has what's actually a voluntary departure for the families of its employees.

It was announced late last night. And there are three locations that they are coming from. The U.S. embassy in Tokyo, the consulate in Nagoya, and the foreign service institute in Yokohama. And as you mentioned, Carol, they are chartering aircraft. And I'll give a couple of details on that in a second. The other thing that's important for regular, you know, average Americans who might be living in Japan is a thing that you were talking about with Sanjay, that 50- mile radius.

That also changed yesterday for Americans. And it's the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that's here in Washington that's suggesting that 50 miles, not the 12 miles that the Japanese government has in its regulations.

Now on the flights, they begin today, March 17th. They are bringing in at least a couple of planes into two airports in Japan. One would be, of course, Tokyo. Narita, that's the main international airport, and the old international airport at Haneda.

Now, if Americans who are living there, who are not members of families but average American citizens want to get out, needed to get out, they also can take advantage of that. What they would do is they can either show up at the airport or there are a couple of contact numbers that we'll give in a second. But there are limited numbers of seats. And also the priority would be given to people who have medical problems or something like that.

So let's look at the contacts. There is an e-mail that people could send any information if they could not immediately get to the airport. And that's Japanemergencyusc@state.gov and there's also the telephone number 202-501-4444. So both of those contacts for U.S. citizens.

COSTELLO: All right. Jill Dougherty, live at the White House, thank you.

Sounds of disaster, the ferocious sound of the earthquake the moment it hit off northern Japan. We have compelling new tape. We'll play it for you.

Also ahead, scared and home alone, an 83-year-old woman hears sirens warning of a tsunami. So what does she do?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): After the tsunami warning, I got on my bicycle by myself and rode away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: She was pedaling really fast. She actually escaped on her bike. She's safe and sound. And as you saw, she's talking about her ordeal.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We're getting an amazing perspective on what the Japan quake sounded like the moment it happened. Listen to this new tape we just got in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (RUMBLING SOUNDS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Since the big earthquake hit on Friday, Japan has had numerous aftershocks. Some of them quite strong.

CNN's Gary Tuchman is in the northeast city of Hachinohe. And Gary, you felt an aftershock just this morning, right?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, we felt a lot of aftershocks. Not only are the Japanese people dealing with this nuclear threat and the earthquake and the tsunami, but daily aftershocks and plenty of them. Just an hour and 45 minutes ago, 5.8 on the Richter scale. These are aftershocks that are major earthquakes in their own right. What's different about these -- (INAUDIBLE)

COSTELLO: It appears we may have lost Gary Tuchman. But he does have the story of that lady on her bicycle that escaped the tsunami. So let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Tsuna Kimura is living among friends at a shelter in the city of Hachinohe, Japan. But on the day of the earthquake and tsunami, she was at the home where she lived by herself.

TSUNA KIMURA, QUAKE SURVIVOR (through translator): I was scared.

TUCHMAN: But she had her wits about her. She heard the sirens signaling a tsunami was on the way. So what did this 83-year-old woman do?

KIMURA (through translator): After the tsunami warning, I got on my bicycle by myself and rode away.

TUCHMAN: That's right. Tsuna Kimura escaped the tsunami on her bike. She spent her life as a rice farmer and takes pride in her physical stamina. When she saw the waters devouring her city, she couldn't believe it.

KIMURA (through translator): I thought Japan would disappear. I thought Japan would disappear under water.

TUCHMAN: Like so many people on the Japanese Pacific coast, Tsuna's house is now flooded.

KIMURA (through translator): It's totally messed. I went to see it, I couldn't enter the house. It's totally messed.

TUCHMAN: Everyone in the shelter is, of course, also consumed by the frightening nuclear reactor drama. The situation has special significance for the older people here who remember the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Tsuna was a teenager then. KIMURA (through translator): This reminds me of it very much so.

TUCHMAN: Tsuna has two children but doesn't want to be a burden to them. She wants to live on her own, but --

KIMURA (through translator): I have no idea what I will do next or where I will go.

TUCHMAN: Tsuna Kimura is strong and proud. Something you might expect of a woman who escaped the tsunami on her bicycle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Gary Tuchman reporting from Japan. We couldn't get him back, sorry about that. But he is OK after that aftershock.

Libya's former ambassador to the U.S. is now with the opposition. He's sending out a warning should the international community not come forward with help. We'll talk to him this hour.

So a plume of radiation leaves Japan and heads across the Pacific. We'll track the path of that plume with Rob Marciano. That's also next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The fight between union rights and state governments did not stop in Wisconsin. Michigan's governor is now grappling with a huge rally in Lansing, and that tops our trek across country. Union members are angry over a proposal by the governor to tax pensions and void union contracts. The Michigan protest follows weeks of labor unrest in Wisconsin.

Next to Nashville, surveillance cameras caught this wild shoot- out during a holdup at a convenience store. These two men, armed men walked inside the market, they demanded money. Big mistake. Bullets started flying when the store manager and another worker pulled their own guns. The robbers lost.

It was no fool's gold at an auction in Sacramento, California. The highest bidder paid $400,000 for the world's largest existing gold nugget. The 100-troy ounce rock was discovered last year near a famous gold rush mining camp in northern California.

And finally, they're seeing green again outside the White House. For the third straight year, the White House fountains are spewing green water to mark St. Patrick's Day. Happy St. Patrick's day. There it is.

All right. In less than two hours, the college basketball madness really heats up. Jeff Fischel is here from HLN Sports. OK. I'm kind of excited. I am excited. I am.

JEFF FISCHEL, HLN SPORTS: This is the day, right? 16 games going on. 16 more tomorrow. The powers that be added a wrinkle this year, there had been one extra game a couple of days before the first round between arguably the two worst teams in the tournament. The playing game. This year there were four playing games, two on Tuesday, two last night. Game one, Texas, San Antonio, versus Alabama state. The not so lucky winner gets Ohio State in the next round.

Tyler Wood picks up the loose ball, beats the clock at the end of the first half. That's good. His teammate Melvin Johnson had 29. Texas San Antonio wins, and for that, yes, they get to play the number one team in the entire tournament, the Ohio State Buckeyes. Carol, Carol gives a shout out to the Buckeyes.

VCU in black versus USC. The other playing game last night, Ed Nixon for VCU buries the three. Virginia Commonwealth goes up four in the second half. Then it's inside Jamie Skeen. He led VCU with 16. The Rams win, they beat S.C., they face Georgetown tomorrow.

OK. You know who's feeling the madness? The president. President Obama's a huge hoops fan, of course. He's made his final four picks. Perhaps a sign that he's trying to reach across party lines. His picks were pretty conservative. He went with the four number-one seeds to reach the final four. No surprises, Ohio State, Kansas, Duke, and Pittsburgh. The president is picking Kansas to win it all. He actually chose Kansas last year, as well. They were upset in the second round. He's sticking with the Jayhawks.

Butler University plays its first round game today. They'll have to do it without their mascot. Their bulldog, Blue 2, is banned.

COSTELLO: Oh, why?

FISCHEL: The NCAA says no live animals in the early rounds of the tourney. Bulldog fans, Butler fans, they remember last year him being in the final four. Butler actually made it to the national championship game, and Blue2 was there. But they made an exception because Butler had made the final four. Not so in the early rounds.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Why? Was the dog bad last year?

FISCHEL: You know, who knows what happens when a live animal is right next to a basketball court. We've seen it in other sports.

COSTELLO: Weird accidents.

FISCHEL: Accidents. They might get free, nibble on a player's leg. Not good.

COSTELLO: Oh. OK. I guess I can buy that. Thank you, Jeff.

FISCHEL: All right. We're 90 minutes away.

COSTELLO: OK. I'm ready.

Speaking of Japan once again, their nuclear crisis is actually triggering anxiety among investors. You know that the Nikkei is tumbling. Wall Street watches. We're live at the New York Stock Exchange after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We're coming up on 10:30 in the east, 7:30 a.m. out west. And 11:30 p.m. in Japan.

The furious effort to fight off a nuclear disaster continues into the night. Crews have been attacking a damaged and dangerously hot nuclear plant with water to cool it off and reduce radiation levels. So far, it does not appear to be working. Engineers will try to fire up the cooling system using external power lines.

The United States is evacuating the families of its diplomatic staff from the country, and it will help other Americans get out of affected areas, as well.

The United Nations' atomic watchdog chief says the situation is still very serious, at least 20 people have gotten sick from possible radiation contamination.

Some perspective now -- last hour, we spoke to our CNN contributor, Jim Walsh. He's our expert on all things nuclear. He says he's slightly more optimistic about the situation today but warns a fundamental dynamic has to change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM WALSH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: What do I mean by that? I'm concerned that the radiation levels are rising to a point where they cannot get workers close enough to be able to reduce that radiation. And if the workers can't get there to get enough water on that nuclear waste pond, can't get enough water in the nuclear fuel reactors, then the radiation will continue to increase which means the workers have to pull back. And you know, over and over again this cycle repeats itself.

If that culminates, that means the workers won't have any access to what's happening. We're not there yet, but I'm afraid we're on that road. We saw some evidence of it yesterday. It's probably reactor four that has the most problems with its spent fuel pond. But there was only one helicopter that was able to go -- either zero or one helicopter was able to go by because of radiation readings.

So instead, the helicopters focused on the reactor pool at reactor number three. Again, there's this problem -- you have to solve the problem. If you don't solve the problem, the radioactivity increases, and then you're able to do less about it going forward. That's the dilemma Japanese officials face right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And they're still working on reactor number three right now. Walsh also says if the reactors can be cooled and there's no significant release of radiation, the damage can be contained to just economic loss. He says crews could pour concrete into the reactors, entomb the fueled rods, and render them virtually harmless. Let's hope it works out that way.

Foreign residents in Japan need permission to return before they leave the country. Today more than 2,500 people formed a long line at the immigration office in Tokyo where they are seeking those re-entry permits. The government says more than 10,000 requested the permits just yesterday. The surge is related to the fear due to a possible nuclear disaster. An nuclear expert from Columbia University told Anderson Cooper last night that residents in Tokyo should be safe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID BRENNER, DIR., CTR. FOR RADIOLOGICAL RESEARCH: I think there's no real likelihood of a significant radiation exposure to Tokyo. That -- it's 150 miles away roughly. And the amount of dispersal of the radioactive cloud that you'll get at this distance is really going to make the doses very low indeed. That being said, as I alluded, we really need to monitor the doses in a more scientific way than we're doing now. It's being done in a very ad hoc manner. Something systematic needs to be done to map the doses on the ground. Not in the air. I mean, the air dose is relevant, but it's not relevant to human exposure. We need to know the doses on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Big x factor in all of this, is, of course the wind, where the radiation goes depends on which way the wind blows. And I know a lot of people are talking about this plume of radiation that's headed toward the west coast of the United States. So calm our fears.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's kind of like that plume of oil I guess back during the oil spill that we thought or some folks thought at some point that it might go all the way to Europe. Well, that never happened. And you also have to remember a couple things. Radiation comes from radioactive material. So we have to get that radioactive material, which is basically particles that are in the air above the plant that get radiated from the stuff that's leaking from the plant.

And then that stuff has to be carried all the way over to the West Coast. Now we have all sorts of stuff in the atmosphere and that's how rain occurs, condensation actually happens on salt and other little particles. That's what -- that's how we get rain. But the particles that would have to be transported, five, in some cases 10,000 miles, that's a lot to ask. So the article that came out this morning that created all the hoopla basically took a plume really that wasn't supposed to replicate what's actually happening at the plant and pretty much theoretically showed how it would get to the west coast.

And it would get here, Carol, but it is unlikely to get here at any sort of unhealthy levels. You know, radiation that we get every day from the sun is a good example. You had an expert on last hour that highlighted that fact. So that air will get here, but it will be so dispersed and so weak at that point that folks who live on the west coast shouldn't be concerned.

COSTELLO: Yes, should not be worried. Please don't be worried.

Thank you, Rob. We appreciate it.

The growing alarm over Japan's nuclear crisis has been worrying investors too around the world. Today's stocks in Japan closed lower. CNN's Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange. How are things looking right now?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol. Talking about the Nikkei average, that's what you were especially talking about. It's been a really brutal week for Japanese stocks. Just to add insult to injury about what's happening there, the Nikkei lost 1.5 percent today. But the trading was calmer overnight, especially after it tumbled a total of 14 percent this week. And you know what? It's fear about the nuclear situation in Japan. That's what's really driving the trading.

And we're seeing the same fears here in the U.S. But today at least the stocks are bouncing back in a big way. Just in first few minutes of the trading day today, we were up over 100 points. Right now, the Dow is up 164 points. But you know what? This good stuff doesn't come with major volatility. Just in the past couple of days, the Dow has fallen 300 points during a couple of the sessions.

You know, some of these big drops were happening in a matter of minutes as investors were reacting to these news flashes coming out almost hour by hour. You know, analysts are saying the fact is is that Japan is a sensitive situation. It really is the main focus.

But thankfully, so far today we don't have major headlines spooking the traders today. It looks like it's a buying opportunity because of yesterday's beatdown that stocks took. We've also got some positive economic news that traders are focusing on. We'll see if we can carry this through to the closing bell. Carol?

COSTELLO: I hope so because it's nice to see those plus signs. Alison Kosik, live at the New York Stock Exchange.

KOSIK: I hear you!

COSTELLO: Libya's former ambassador to the United States is now with the opposition. He's sending out a warning should the international community not come forward to help, like with, say, a no-fly zone. We'll talk to him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We'll have more coverage from Japan. Right now, we want to take a closer look at what's happening in Libya's civil war. Libyan state TV is reporting that pro-Gadhafi forces are in control of the city of Ajdabiya. But CNN journalists at the city's gates see no evidence of that.

Loyal forces yesterday bombarded the city, which is a gateway to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Residents of Benghazi have been pleading for a no-fly zone to be imposed over Libya. State TV is warning residents there that an attack will come soon.

CNN's Arwa Damon has been wanting from the Benghazi area. She joins us now on the phone. What are things looking like there now?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on the phone): Well, Carol, it does appear as if Gadhafi's forces do remain bogged down in Ajdabiya, despite the fact that they do hold the military upper hand. The opposition for now, does seem to be able to keep them based on the sources that we have, from taking hold of that city. The question though is how long can they actually hold out without international help?

The sense is that the time has passed for any discussion of a no- fly zone. That has to be immediately implemented, and now people feel is the time for surgical air strikes. The sense is that Gadhafi is effectively mocking and daring the world to take action against him.

And as long as the international community, United Nations, continue to deliberate -- or should they choose a path of inaction, the sense here amongst the opposition is that the West is effectively going to become an accomplice to a massacre that at the end of the day is going to be imminent. Should Gadhafi's forces manage to take Ajdabiya and come to the stronghold of Benghazi, regain control of eastern Libya, everybody who has partaken in this uprising firmly believes that they will be slaughtered. This is not a man, Carol, who has ever shown mercy on those who opposed him in the past.

COSTELLO: Arwa Damon, reporting live from Benghazi, Libya. Thanks so much.

At the United Nations, diplomats have been talking about a number of options in Libya beyond a no-fly zone. Maybe even air strikes against Gadhafi forces. U.S. ambassador Susan Rice hopes for some kind of resolution today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN RICE, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We are discussing seriously and leading efforts in the council around a range of actions that we believe could be effective in protecting civilians. Those include discussion of a no-fly zone. But the U.S. view is that we need to contemplate steps that include but perhaps go beyond a no- fly zone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Ali Suleiman Aujali is Libya's former ambassador to the U.S. He resigned last month in a protest over Moammar Gadhafi's violence against protesters. He now represents the opposition's National Transitional Council. He joins us from Washington.

And in Tripoli, CNN's senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson. Thanks to both of you for joining us.

Let's start with you, though, Mr. Aujali because you heard Susan Rice say air strikes are an option. But does this come too late?

ALI SULEIMAN AUJALI, FORMER LIBYA AMBASSADOR TO U.S.: Yes, because we've been asking for the no-flying zone for strike for the Gadhafi forces for the last three weeks. Unfortunatelym the international community, they're acting very slow. It looks like they don't have any experience of Gadhafi, who's been in power for 42 years. This man, he will kill and slaughter the people if he manages to catch them.

There's no time for deliberation now. The security council, they must take action. Americans, they should -- I made a plea to President Obama to move, to do something. Now what we are waiting for, another massacre for the Libyan people?

The United States -- you are major player (ph). You have interest in Libya. I don't think we will leave the Libyan people killing by Gadhafi's forces without mercy. President Obama, please. I'm asking for the second, third time, you know what is Gadhafi. You know what he will do with our people. Then you have with the international community -- you have to do action.

COSTELLO: Mr. Ajuli, I know Nic Robertson, he wants to also ask questions. But I just want to pose this question to you right now. The Arab League. It's announced its support for a no-fly zone. But why can't Arab countries conduct this no-fly zone? Why don't they step in and help?

AUJALI: They don't have, I think, the ability to conduct a no- fly zone. But the Arab -- some Arab countries, they already announced that they would be ready to participate in any action again the regime. And that's fair enough. Never have the Arab countries before been involved in any action against any other Arab countries. But this regime, because they know how wide the (INAUDIBLE) it is. Then they already stand by their commitment to help the Libyan people. And the United States, they're the ones who always show their teeth for regimes like this in Yugoslavia before and some other places.

COSTELLO: Right, right. Nic Robertson, I know you want to ask some questions. So, go for it.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Aujali, I wonder if there's something you can explain to our audience here and even to us. This is something we've seen in Tripoli over the last couple of weeks.

When we arrived here, the government office was on its back feet -- people like you were resigning. There were rebels and uprisings in cities not far from the capital.

But the government has sort of taken control. And we've seen a change in the mindset of the people. Probably people that you know here in the capital. People who talked to us who a few weeks ago would talk against Moammar Gadhafi and the regime. But now they've sort of reset their thinking as they see the government taking more and more control. Explain to our audience why people do that here when they see the government taking more territory across the country, and what does that do for the hopes of international intervention when so many people now begin on this side of this line at least to fall in line behind the government.

AUJALI: You mean the people in Libya -- talking about the people in Libya changing their position? The Libyan people, they never changed their position since the democracy start. The people now, they are looking carefully at what is going on in Libya. And of course, if anybody living in the Western part of Libya, of course they have to be careful what they are saying. But the people who are living overseas, including me, and they have a chance to move and act - there's nobody will change his position.

But the problem what makes people frustrated -- the silence and the slow action from the international community. That's the main problem.

COSTELLO: And Mr. Aujali, we're all curious here in the United States about those missing New York Times journalists, what might be happening to them. Do you know? Do you have any idea?

AUJALI: I was watching the news about these four journalists who have been missing for some time. And the only comment I hear is that Gadhafi's regime, they said if they found them, they will be safe. A hundred percent sure that if they are in the eastern part where the cities and the -- under control of the villagers, of course they are very safe. But we don't know if it's Gadhafi. Gadhafi start shooting and killing journalists who are telling the truth. He need everybody and he wants everybody to tell lies like his broadcasting service and his TV channels.

COSTELLO: Mr. Aujali, Nic Robertson, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

AUJALI: Thank you.

COSTELLO: A nuclear crisis, 5,000 miles away, is triggering radiation fears here. Antiradiation pills are flying off the shelves. Or how about this? A nuclear survival kit. Before you break out your credit card, we're getting a reality check on the situation from our medical unit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Some breaking news out of Minneapolis to tell you about. You see it there. A serious fire near the intersection of Interstate 35 West and Highway 62. It has traffic in both directions at a dead stop. CNN affiliate KARE is reporting the blaze may be due to a gas line rupture. Witnesses say the flames are coming from a parking lot at a nearby supermarket. The supermarket's been evacuated. The good thing is no reports of injuries yet. And of course, if we get more details, we'll pass them along.

U.S. troops in Japan are not allowed within 50 miles of those burning nuclear reactors in Fukushima. Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence shows us the precautions the military is taking in an effort to keep our forces safe in a disaster zone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): U.S. helicopter crews are flying no closer than 50 miles from these nuclear reactors, delivering tons of blankets, food, and water, searching for survivors along the coast.

Wednesday was the first time in days no crews came back contaminated with radiation. But anyone flying within 70 miles is taking potassium iodine pills before they leave.

COL. STEVE CRAMER, U.S. AIR FORCE: So, what it's actually designed to do is act as a blocking agent.

LAWRENCE: Colonel Steve Cramer is a military doctor who depends on his officers to map the radioactive plume and figure in how fast the wind is blowing.

CRAMER: And then, they'd be doing calculations for me to determine who's likely to be exposed, what level of exposure, and the intensity of the exposure.

LAWRENCE (on camera): An aircraft carrier and several ships were downwind of the radioactive cloud. But they've been moved north and further to sea. And although there was only the smallest bit of radiation detected at U.S. bases in Japan, the troops and their families there have been advised, stay inside as much as possible and keep the vents closed.

Also, several ships that were bound for the Pacific have been re- routed to the western side of Japan just to avoid the radiation.

(voice-over): If troops in Japan have to operate within a contaminated zone, they'll have radiation suits to protect them.

(on camera): Between the boots and the gloves, you do lose a little bit of dexterity, so there will be things that troops just can't do as well. The mask is a full-face air-purifying respirator, which means there's no air supply in there. But these cartridges on the side would filter out any radioactive particles.

Which brings up yet another problem -- communication. It would be a lot harder for the team to understand what I'm saying while I'm wearing this mask.

(voice-over): And if troops get closer to the radiation source, they'll switch to these self-contained respirators with their own oxygen supply.

MAJOR MIKE FEA, U.S. AIR FORCE: Again, it will be a buddy system. And they'll come out and send another team in.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LAWRENCE: There's also a very special plane that has been deployed -- ordered to deploy to the area. It can sniff and detect some of the radiation settings in the air. In addition, you've got 43,000 military family and dependents in Japan. Those in the northeast who want to evacuate, the Department of Defense has announced they will pay for them to get out of the country. And, of course, it will be a DoD personnel trying to assist them in leaving.

COSTELLO: Oh, that makes me feel a lot better. Because if I had kids over there, I'd want them out in, like, one millisecond. Chris Lawrence, many thanks, live at the Pentagon.

You just heard that the U.S. military is handing out potassium iodine pills to troops near the Fukushima plant. The Japanese government is also doling them out. But here in the United States, half a world away, people are flooding pharmacies, vitamin shops and Web sites on a hunt for the pills. Then there are the nuclear decontamination kits, complete with wipes, bags, gloves and detectors.

Before you reach into your wallet, though, senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is here to put things into perspective. So, it's crazy what's available. When you go to these sites, things are selling out quickly! Buy now, buy now!

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. And I can imagine -- I've gotten phone calls from loved ones in California asking me should I be taking these potassium iodine pills? And I get it. I understand the concern.

But I am here to say that there is no reason for anyone in the United States to be concerned right now. And there is one reason, and it is a phrase I was taught in public health school. I'll tell it to you now. "The solution to pollution is dilution." OK? Dilution

So, take a look at this map. We're talking more than 5,000 miles between Japan and the West Coast of the United States. All right. That's a lot of dilution. So, even if some radioactive did reach the West Coast, it is so diluted that experts - and we're talking a lot of experts. Because I didn't just call one person. We called a lot of people! And from different spectrums, different areas of academia. And they all said it's going to be so diluted that it's not going to cause problems. We do not need these pills.

COSTELLO: See, it's the psychological thing. Some people say why am I going to take a chance? Why not take this pill?

COHEN: And that's a good question. Because the pills are relatively cheap and they're out there. But you know what? They can cause problems. You might be allergic to them and you don't know because you've never taken them before. If you take them the wrong way, they can cause some serious gastrointestinal problems and other problems, too.

So, this isn't just like eating a piece of candy, it's different.

COSTELLO: OK. Advice taken. So, what about the -- I don't even want to ask this. These decontamination suits -- I mean --

COHEN: But you know what? You have to ask because they're available on the Internet. And I'm sure people listening to us right now have seen them and have wondered do I need them? So, let's take this seriously.

COSTELLO: They're available --

COHEN: There are some people who are worried, not just because of Japan, who are worried all the time about nuclear war, whatever. And they sort of get into this and they store this stuff. And you know what? If they want to do that, then I guess they can do that.

But just because of Japan, you don't need this stuff. You don't need this stuff. So, for example, these kids have wipes. Well, wipes aren't going to help you. You and I were talking about this a couple of days ago. If you were in Japan right now and did have some kind of radioactivity on you, they would tell you to take your clothes off, get rid of them, and take a shower with soap and water. That's what you would need to do. These wipes are not going to do anything for you.

There's nothing in these kits that would solve the problem if you truly did have radioactive poison. But again, in this country, it's not going to happen due to Japan.

COSTELLO: We should take a deep breath and don't go out build a bunker in your backyard.

COHEN: A chill pill! Now that would be useful! That would be worth the money. But other than that, no, it's not worth the money.

COSTELLO: Thanks, Elizabeth!

COHEN: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Japan's epic disaster is taking a painful toll on survivors, of course.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My wife, my son's family, and four grandchildren, I lost them all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

The struggle to move on and cope in the aftermath.

(COMMERICAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Let's look ahead at other stories making news today. In just a few minutes from now in Washington, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi holds a news conference on the one-year anniversary of Obamacare. Next hour in New Orleans, federal officials announce their findings of a nearly year-long investigation into the city's police department.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: There are glimmers of life and hope amidst the rubble of Japan's epic disaster. CNN Lisa Sylvester reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the midst of all this sorrow and destruction, a baby boy is born to a doctor and his young wife in Minamikanrisu (ph). The water from the tsunami rose to the fourth floor of the hospital; two-thirds of the staff and patients are missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Dr. Annos (ph) says this helps ease some of the suffering. The baby has given him hope. He says that no matter what happens, people must keep walking ahead and look forward.

SYLVESTER: But there is still much hardship and pain. Kanichi Suzuki (ph) is volunteer firefighter. He returns to his house in Kamichi for the first time.

KANICHI SUZUKI (ph), VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER (through translator): My wife, my son's family, and four grandchildren, I lost them all.

SYLVESTER: Others look for their loved ones, including this couple. They search for their son, who worked at the post office.

For the survivors in the hardest hit areas, new worries. Food is running out. Grocery stores can't restock their shelves.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This man says that he has nothing to sell anymore. And he apologizes to customers who have come to the store.

SYLVESTER: In Ohufunachu (ph), the U.S. Marines land a helicopter bringing food and other supplies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Food, food. Everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is an unexpected flight coming, so I'm really surprised about it. I do appreciate their coming. I almost cried.

SYLVESTER: But here at this evacuation center in Mina Mirsanriku (ph), they still wait for help. Eighty percent of the evacuees here are over the age of 65. There is only one doctor to care for them. His patients suffer from high blood pressure and diabetes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): My blood pressure has shot up, and I forgot my medicine.

SYLVESTER: He is rationing the little bit of medicine they have, but it's running out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We can't last another three days. They are distributing drugs. But you know, so far, I haven't gotten any yet.

SYLVESTER: Lisa Sylvester, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Fredricka Whitfield is in for Suzanne Malveaux. So, Fredricka, take it away and I'll join you in about five minutes.

FREDERIKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thanks so much. Good to see you. Thanks, Carol.