Experts Explain Worst Case Scenarios at Nuclear Plant

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - Though recent accounts have assured the world the nuclear situation in Japan is relatively stable, the possibility things getting worse is on the minds of people.

Experts have said a worst-case scenario at the Fukushima Daiichi plant might rival the Chernobyl disaster that shocked the former Soviet Union in 1986 or the 1979 incident at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Michael Allen, vice provost for research and dean of graduate studies at Middle Tennessee State University, is an expert in the nuclear field. He spent the first years of his research career in Sandia National Laboratories studying nuclear reactions.

Allen told the Knoxville News Sentinel he believes the problem at Fukushima Daiichi stems from the fact that hydrogen build-up caused explosions which have exposed nuclear fuel rods inside core reactors.

He believes, according to reports, that the worst-case scenario would involve officials being unable to cool the burning fuel rods sufficiently at the plant. If this happens, the fuel could burn through containment layers and create a steam explosion, which would then send a cloud of radioactive gasses and dust into the atmosphere.

Reuters reports have depicted officials as cautiously optimistic about the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

"It hasn't gotten worse, which is positive," International Atomic Energy Agency official Graham Andrew told the news service Thursday.

Despite Andrew's affirmative spin, the possibility the situation could still get worse exists.Many groups are taking precautions to be ready for a "worst-case" type scenario.

According to a report from Stars and Stripes , an independent military news source, the Pentagon has declared a 50-mile no-go zone around the damaged plant and troops traveling on rescue missions within 80 miles of the crippled nuclear plant are taking special medical precautions.