. >> translator: reportedly iaea suggested the japanese government issue an evacuation order. what do you say? >> translator: yes, the iaea has been conducting a soil survey, and one of the sample readings have exceeded iaea recommended leve levels, and it's been advised to the japanese government that we should take careful decisions based on these sampling results, and they will -- we have been continuing the atmospheric radiation surveys near the site and the iaea sampling results will also be taken into consideration for further detailed monitoring on the part of the japanese government. and as to the radiation levels in soil, this has exceeded the recommended limits. if the health hazard can develop to humans who stay near the site for prolonged periods of time, but there is no immediate health hazards if the exposure will continue for a prolonged period of time, the impact can occur. we will continue the ongoing survey, so there is no plan at the moment to expand the evacuation area. we do recognize that the radiation levels have been higher than the recommended level an

yet today the iaea reiterated that the plant remains serious. what is the latest you are hearing?> i think this set-back they have had in their efforts to cool the plant over the last 24 hours is evidence of what the iaea is saying. the smoke and steam rising from the plant, steam sill rising from the plant after several hours. the chief cabinet secretary in that briefing admitting they don't really know what is causing that steam. they are sending back the workers into the plant again to carry on working on the reactors because the radiation levels ares stable. but they can't tell what is going on inside the row actors because they haven't got the monitoring devices up and running. so it is really very difficult for them to know exactly what kind of risk the workers are facing. that is why the iaea is still very concerned about the situation. >> what more do we know about the information we are getting that perhaps sea water and food has always been contaminated in -- also been tam natured in the area? >> the chief secretary of the cabinet was clear about this. he said yes, conta

iaea director general yukiya amano said the agency would be ready to send officials to the country if there is progress at the six-party talks. amano made the remarks at a meeting of the iaea board of governors in vienna on monday. >> the nuclear program of the democratic people's republic of korea remains a matter of serious concern for the northeast asian region and beyond. >> amano also voiced grave concern regarding reports that surfaced last year about the construction of a new uranium enrichment facility. after the meeting amano told reporters the iaea would be willing to play a role in the denuclearization process if there's an agreement at the six-party talks. he said the nuclear watchdog would look into the possibility of inspections in case of such a development. north korea and china are seeking to resume the talks. china is the chair, but the united states, japan and south korea are deeply concerned about the north's uranium enrichment program. they are even considering bringing up the issue at a u.n. security council session. >>> north korea says it wants to repatriate a

amano made the remark in an emergency iaea board meeting in vienna on monday. the meeting opened way silent prayer for victims of the great east japan earthquake. amano told participants that he and prime minister naoto kan agreed last week that japan will speed up information about the crisis at the fukushima daiichi plant. amano said the situation at the plant remains very serious but some positive developments have been seen. officials later briefed a working-level meeting on how the crisis developed at the plant and their plan to restore cooling systems for reactors. >> one of the issues that have been discussed is that this is some -- the safety standard is not mandatory, voluntary, but there is some also argument or views that this should be mandatory. >> the iaea has already sent a team of experts to japan. the organization plans to send more nuclear and radiation experts on japan's request. >>> the death toll from the quake and tsunami has risen to more than 8,800. the national police agency says that 8,805 deaths have been confirmed so far and more tha

the iaea is calling these latest problems at the plant a disturbing. what do you make of them? >> it is not really do it news. what they did was recapitulate what has happened in the last 24 hours. there was the explosion at reactor no. 2, which was expect but quite desuctive. it might or might not have actually broken into the construction which is there to prevent radiation from leaving the facility. there was a spike in radiation which subsequently disbursed. the spike was quite high, about 400 times what they say you should get in the year. that came within a single hour at the reactor. on the other hand, there is good news. seems that reactors no. 11 and no. 3 seed to have been relatively stable today. the communications have to be better between the japanese government and the iaea. >> you spoke about a spike in radiation levels. what does that mean as far as health concerns for the population? >> longer-term exposure to higher levels of radiation, particularly radio isotopes like iodine, it is not good for you. is a very healthy thing but the spike we saw today is not go

the iaea is calling these latest problems at the plant a disturbing. what do you make of them? >> it is not really do it news. what they did was recapitulate what has happened in the last 24 hours. there was the explosion at reactor no. 2, which was expected but quite destructive. it might or might not have actually broken into the construction which is there to prevent radiation from leaving the facility. there was a spike in radiation which subsequently disbursed. the spike was quite high, about 400 times what they say you should get in the year. that came within a single hour at the reactor. on the other hand, there is good news. seems that reactors no. 11 and no. 3 seed to have been relatively stable today. the communications have to be better between the japanese government and the iaea. >> you spoke about a spike in radiation levels. what does that mean as far as health concerns for the population? >> longer-term exposure to higher levels of radiation, particularly radio isotopes like iodine, it is not good for you. is a very healthy thing. but the spike we saw today is n

. >> the iaea has its own specialists. i brought many of them with me. >> the japanese prime minister made an appearance saying his government has disclosed all available information. ththsituation at the plant gives no cause for optimism. operators are pinning their hopes on a power system to restart cooling pumps. plants has also been drawn up to carry the plant in san and concrete. >> west african leaders will hold a summit to discuss the ongoing political crisis in ivory coast. the community has threatened to use force to out the president. political violence has been escalating and the death toll is mounting. he refused to step down after the election last november. libya has declared a cease-f-fe in response to the un legislation authorizing military force. the minister would stop all military operations to comply with the resolution. more international news after a short break. >> germany abstained to offerings the use of force against the gaddafi regime. they may send aircrews and afghanistan to free of u.s. pilots

should iaea have oversight of the country in the nuclear activity? thank you. >> charlie? >> in the terms of radiation monitoring, we have a fairly sophisticated global system to register changes in radiation. most of that was developed against the potential for atomic weapons, but it can pretty well pick up what's happening. within japan there is definitely concern about the food chain as this incident gets worse. the first place it often hits is in dairy products. >> [inaudible] this is going all over the world. >> right. oh, i'm sorry. but radiation, nearby radiation event the first concern is about dairy products in terms of the food chain. as this radiation goes over the world, the amounts that we're talking about at least from what we think is going to happen right now is infin tez mall by the time it reaches any other land mass other than japan. but it could have a very serious impact on japan were it to get noticeably worse. we're not expecting, you know, we're not expecting -- there was an erroneous report the other day that it was going to hit southern california

what happened is that the iaea has said that in one village which is about 40 kilometers from the zone, there are levels of radiation in the atmosphere which exceed one of its criteria for evacuation. what it advised the government was in fact that they should assess the situation carefully. the government said that they are assisting the situation -- assessing the situation. they have said they're looking at the situation very carefully. certainly, in the long term, if the radiation remains that high, it will be a problem. at this stage, they say it does not pose a risk. >> thank you. the syrian president bashar al- assad has addressed the country since the protest began two weeks ago. he failed to announce widely expected reforms and instead accused syrians enemies of conspiring against national unity. hundreds of people took to the streets chanting "freedom." >> president assad at the lighted his allies in syria's parliament. -- delighted his allies in syria's parliament. he disappointed reformers who had hoped for a big gesture like the end of the emergency law which has powered th

the iaea, i am not sure where you want to extend their authority. we tried to get a proliferation stan. under their protocol. -- proliferation standpoint under their standards. the right of their inspectors to make snap inspections without warning of any nuclear facility in a country. but in terms of saying that they should have authority over all radiation, environment, and in local countries -- >> [inaudible] make sure the country does the right thing. if they get it from the ocean and given back to the ocean -- >> the iaea has no authority over questions like that. they can advise on safety, on greater knowledge of radiation potentials. >> [unintelligible] >> they do not have the authority. whether they should have that, that is a good question. but you have to modify the treaty to give them that enhanced the authority and getting it hand -- members to agree that they have sovereignty -- that they were willing to give up sovereignty in that area. a very interesting question. >> let's go for another question here. thank you. >> of richard, america

the iaea official also said japan's safety guidelines were outdated. >>> energy secretary stephen chu says he thinks the japanese nuclear crisis may be more serious than the 1979 disaster at pennsylvania's three mile island facility. but, chu testifying on capitol hill yesterday said things are happening so fast in japan that it's really not clear what's going on. >> there are conflicting reports, and so we don't really know in detail what's happening. >> it isn't just u.s. officials who are trying to get a handle on what is actually happening in japan. it is the japanese people, as well. bill whitaker has that part of the story. >> reporter: the fallout from japan's worst nuclear accident is growing panic, and suspicion the government and tepco, the tokyo electric power company, are not telling the whole truth. they established a 20-mile danger zone, but fear in japan has spread much farther. "i think the government is trying to hide something," she says. "the prime minister and tepco say we are fine, but things keep happening that say we aren't fine." tepco, established in 195, just

in a sign of just how dire the situation has become the japanese government has reached out to the iaea, the international atomic energy agency and to the u.s. the japanese determined here in a desperate race to avoid a catastrophic meltdown. entire families who escaped the shadow of the doomed nuclear power reactors are coming here worried they were exposed to radiation. we were given extraordinary access to the test sites where medical teams wearing hazmat suits used megaphones to direct the parents and their children where to go. they're using geiger counters and hand-held scanners checking everyone one by one, especially the most vulnerable, the children scanning this little girl's hair, and there are countless young faces here. there are three nuclear reactors in trouble tonight at what's called the fukushima daiichi plant. just two days ago an explosion at reactor one released radioactive material into the air, then just yesterday a second blast at reactor three releasing more, and while dramatic, these are not the worst case scenarios. tonight there is new concern about reactor 2

today, the iaea had reported that the radiation levels here in japan had decreased and some people were asking if this country had, in fact, dodged a bullet. but tonight, that new fire under way. it points out just how hour by hour this has been unfolding. >> volatile in every sense of the word. and for those of us who heard first about nuclear power plants, probably from the phrase china syndrome, we wondered if it's still a reality, a tunneling through the earth. so, we asked our martha raddatz to tell us more tonight. >> reporter: how bad could it get? the big fear is nuclear meltdown. meaning the reactor core gets so hot, it turns into a radioactive molten mass, breaks through the containment vessel, spewing radioactivity through the air, ground and water. in the hollywood "china syndrome" version, they claim the mass could melt through a steel floor, through the earth, to china. no one thinks that could happen. but the reality for japanese reactors? >> this is way past three mile island and we are heading into chernobyl territory. >> reporter: the difference? three mile island was

iran is continuing to expand production of nuclear fuel according to the iaea and they now possess over 8,000 pounds of uranium, enough to build two or three of nuclear weapons should they go forward. the president stated that their development of a nuclear weapon is unacceptable and that we have to mount an international effort to prevent that from happening. i ask, madam secretary, if you could speak to the efforts of the administration specifically in enforcing success to date and then i will follow up. >> thank you, congressman. we have put together, thanks to the work of this committee and others, a very effective sanctions regime which we're constantly looking to improve, to tighten, to strengthen, and we welcome the advice from this committee particularly. when we passed that, it was on top of the iran sanctions act. i oppose -- and i impose sanctions for the first time on the swiss-based iranian own firm, nico, a major investor in a number of projects in iran. we took advantage of what was in the bill to begin this sanction on human-rights. we have more designations in addition

the iaea, i am not sure where you want to extend their authority. we tried to get a proliferation stan. under their protocol. the right of their inspectors to make snap inspections without warning of any nuclear facility in a country. but in terms of saying that they should have authority over all radiation, environment, and in local countries -- >> [inaudible] if they get it from the ocean and given back to the ocean -- >> the iaea has no authority over questions like that. they can advise on safety, on greater knowledge of radiation potentials. >> [unintelligible] >> they do not have the authority. whether they should have that, that is a good question. but you have to modify the treaty to give them that enhanced the authority and getting it hand -- members to agree that they have sovereignty in that area. a very interesting question. >> let's go for another question here. thank you. >> of richard, american chemical society. can you comment on the engineering or the shoddy engineering in some cases in terms of the nuclear facilities, and also in t

. >> the iaea has its own specialists. i brought many of them with me. >> the japanese prime minister made an appearance saying his government has disclosed all available information. the situation at the plant gives no cause for optimism. operators are pinning their hopes on a power system to restart cooling pumps. plants has also been drawn up to carry the plant in san and concrete. >> west african leaders will hold a summit to discuss the ongoing political crisis in ivory coast. the community has threatened to use force to out the president. political violence has been escalating and the death toll is mounting. he refused to step down after the election last november. libya has declared a cease-fire in response to the un legislation authorizing military force. the minister would stop all military operations to comply with the resolution. more international news after a short break. >> germany abstained to offerings the use of force against the gaddafi regime. they may send aircrews and afghanistan to free of u.s. pilots

in the mean time the iaea says the nuclear situation remains very serious. power lines to the fukushima plant being reinstalled and the dead and missing from the earthquake and tsunami now total more than 15,000. so far 4 of the 6 reactor at the plant have seen fires, explosions, partial melt down. rising temperatures in the pool use to store spent nuclear fuel and damage to the structure, housing, reactor core. crisis all the way around. now the u.s. navy is racing to the rescuexd about to return and u.s. is flying in 5 giant pump from the navy base and deliver enormous amounts of water after helicopters sprayed water to no avail. martha tonight with the latest on this disaster. >> one expert told us it is like using a squirt begun to put out a forest fire. japanese fire truck using riot control water hoses to tackle red hot nuclear reactor. helicopters swooping overhead dropping bucket after bucket. every effort falling short. but here is the encouraging news. japanese plant operators have connected a new electric power line to the plant. this entire crisi

we have an iaea report that the water level is down a little bit as well. for the final reactor, we do not have any significant information at this time. recently, the nerc made a recommendation that based on the information that we have a up for a comparable situation in the united states, we would recommend any evacuation to a much larger radius that has been provided in japan. the ambassador in japan has issued a statement to american citizens that we believe is appropriate to evacuate to the larger distance up to approximately 50 miles. the nerc continues to provide assistance to japan as needed. we will continue our efforts to monitor the situation with the limited data available. that is the summary of where we stand. i would be happy to answer the questions that you have. >> we appreciate you being with us this afternoon. in the early question and answer period with secretary chu, the gentleman from massachusetts had referred to a finding by mr. john ma relating to be a design, he had indicated that mr. ma had some serious reservations about the desi

international community's concerns and irreversibly shut down its nuclear weapons program have a right under iaea inspection. i think that is the position of the international community along with the united states. >> thank you, madam secretary. thank you. mr. carnahan the ranking member on the subcommittee of oversights and investigation and the reason i interrupt is because we've got limited time and everyone wants to ask a question. so i apologize, madam secretary. >> that's fine. >> thank you, madam chairman, and welcome secretary clinton. personally, for the work you do and on behalf of the people i represent in missouri, we really appreciate you really being one-person voice of america at a time when we really need it. so thank you. i wanted to submit two questions to you in writing. one, about our continued work. we had an oversight subcommittee last year. we heard from stewart bowen and we would like to get an update on the transition efforts in terms of reconstruction, how that process is going and also would like to get a written question in to you about the ongoing engagement with bos

. >> reporter: for much of the last 24 hours, the iaea has reported those radioactive levels have decreasedshowing just how hourly this crisis is. david muir, abc news, tokyo, japan. >>> and help from the united states continues to pour into the quake zone. aid to japan has now topped $5 million with more expected and more needed, of course. >> the most pressing needs are still food, safe drinking water, blankets, medical supplies, fuel and sanitation infrastructure. john hendren joining us from washington with more on what is being done to help. hi, john. >> reporter: good morning. japan is nowhere near the rebuilding stage yet. they're still sifting through the rubble, looking for survivors. but the international community is rushing aid to japan. after the tsunami comes a second wave, a surge of international aid. >> you've got essentially a triple tragedy. an earthquake, a tsunami and now this nuclear accident. we are working very closely with japanese officials, providing them with a wide range of assistance. >> reporter: much comes from the united states on ships, such as the "uss ron

for the two remaining units, we have an iaea report that the water level is down a little bit in the spent fuel pool. for the final reactor, we do not have any significant information at this time. recently, the nrc made a recommendation that based on the available information that we have, in a comparable situation in the united states, we would advise a wider evacuation range that has been advised. the ambassador to japan has issued a statement to american citizens that we believe it is appropriate to evacuate up to approximately 50 miles. the nrc is part of a larger effort and continues to provide assistance to japan as requested. we will continue our efforts to monitor the situation with the limited data we have available. that provides a general summary of where the incident stands. with that, i will in my testimony and answer questions you might have. >> commissioner, thank you. we appreciate you being with us this afternoon. in the earlier question and answer period with secretary chu, the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. markey refered to a finding relating to the design. he

how dire the situation has become, we've now learned the japanese government has reached out to the iaeaued stranded survivors, delivered supplies and helped move injured to the hospital. as our christiane amanpour found out, so much more is needed. >> reporter: "i need food, i'm running out of food," says this business woman. the good news is some aid was prepositioned. part of japan's earthquake preparedness. "we're trying to feed 2,000 people, maybe more. we'll continue as long as our rice lasts," says this aid worker. but the rice, like the rest of the supplies, is not nearly enough. so much more is needed and the effort is herculean. we saw that firsthand at the red cross command center here. what is your biggest challenge right now? >> the biggest challenge is for our relief operation at this moment is logistics. >> reporter: much of northern japan's infrastructure is in tatters as we saw from the air. coastal roads, bridges and rail system are all under water. making it nearly impossible to reach by land. so, for now, the humanitarian intervention is dependent on military helicopt

there were reports that iaea quarterly report indicating that iran is exploring ways to militarize the nuclear program. the report stated that iraq is trying to move advanced centrifuges that could reduce the amount of time needed to produce weapons and create fuel. iran is continuing to expand the production of nuclear fuel. they now possess over 8,000 pounds of uranium. the president stated that iraq is development of a nuclear weapon is unacceptable and that -- iran's development of a nuclear weapon is unacceptable. i would ask if you could speak to the efforts of the administration in the state department in enforcing. >> thank you very much. we have put together, thanks to the work of this committee and others, a very effective sanctions regime, which we're constantly looking to improve, to strengthen. we welcome the advice from this committee particularly. when we passed, it was on top of the iran sanction. last fall, i opposed sanctions for the first time on the swiss- based iranian it: a firm. it was a major investment -- investor in a number of oil and gas projects in iran. we

wall street journal poll -- "the wall street journal talks about the iaea. that is the wall street journal. westminster, md., wayne of the democratic line. caller: good morning. i do not know how many people are familiar with npr. every week, they have "hot jazz saturday night," which is old jazz from the 1920's and through the war years. they play educational radio. corporate media favorites, fox news -- they like constantly about the weapons of mass destruction in iraq, sending our troops to a war that was presented to us based strictly on lies and innuendo. npr was a shining light above that. npr was pacifica. they were yelling even louder, these were lies, these were lies. if they take this media away from us, we're doomed to be controlled by the same people who brought us adolf hitler and his gang. host: the u.s. house votes today on whether to end funding for npr. what do you think? caller: taxpayers would be better served if we donated the money to c-span. they come the closest, in my opinion, for being unbiased. people can listen to you all and make

there was recently a iaea review done and they did not identify any of that interference concern that you are referring to. >> thank you. >> senator frank and. >> -- senator franken. >> thank you, gentlemen, for your testimony. in a report by the national academies, they recommended that the spent fuel rods stored in pools on site should be arranged to place old, cool fuel rods next to a newer, hotter rods to prevent hot spots and fires in the event that people's lost water to cover -- the pools lost water to cover the rods. in an editorial in "the washington post," they wrote that despite these regulations, no such action has been taken in the united states and japan. there are plans to review these regulations and possibly implement them. >> a senator, i believe, and perhaps you can ask the next panel, but i believe it is common practice to do such a thing at the plants in the united states, that there is a movement of the fuel in order to optimize storage conditions in the spent fuel pool. >> that is at odds with what was written in "the post," and i will ask the next panel. we hav

because even now the iaea at the bottom of all their statements about radiation are putting these disclaimers that it's actually everything is pretty okay in terms of human health and safety. so i want to ask you about that. and i think i have another question, but if you could answer that i will think of the other one and ask you later. thanks. [speaking in russian] [speaking in russian] [speaking in russian] >> translator: i think they have the necessity to take a caution. it is effective. well, hours before, if it's before it happened, then the effectiveness is half glass, half less. ending two days if you start to taking tablets, two days after the exposure than the effectiveness is only 2%. when you are speaking about fukushima and the actions, i pay attention to. they usually see -- >> just now exist, but not immediately. not be immediate. in 10 years, 20 years, still they will have enormous. so my advice, not the media dangers, crime can go away immediately. >> means you should run away very quickly and as far as you can. >> visit erich pica from erich pica from friends of the earth. a

international community concerns and irreversibly shutdown their weapons program have such a right under iaea inspection. that is the position along with united states. >> thank you madam secretary. the ranking member of the subcommittee on oversight and investigation. the reason i interrupt is we have limited time and everyone wants to ask questions. i apologize, madam secretary. >> welcome, secretary clinton for the work that you do. we really appreciate you being the one voice of america and at a time when we really need it. thank you. i want to submit to questions to you in writing, what about our continued work. we had an oversight subcommittee meeting last year and we heard from stored poland. i would like an update on the transition efforts in terms of reconstruction, how the process is going, and i would like to get a written question to you about the ongoing engagement with bosnia for constitutional reforms and the need for u.s. engagement with the eu. i would like to focus my question, really, about the voices of democracy that are rising across the middle east, north africa, and el

earlier, japanese authorities told the iaea engineers laid an external grid power cable to reactor 2. today, for the first time, the nation's top government spokesman acknowledged japan is willing to accept technical help from the u.s. in dealing with the nation's nuclear crisis. on thursday, president obama visited the japanese embassy in washington to sign a condolence book, calm u.s. fears and pledge to help the japanese people. >> we feel a great urgency to provide assistance to those who have been displaced from their homes, who are suffering enormously at this moment. >> reporter: japan is a nation on edge. passport centers are full, train stations mobbed. airlines are scrambling to fly thousands of people out of tokyo. at the airport u.s. embassy staffers set up a help desk for americans who want to leave. >> nuclear fallout refugees. >> crowds flocked aboard buses out of sendai, a city hard hit by the earthquake and tsunami now low on basic necessities confusion, anger and distrust are spreading despite the government's reassurance. about the risks of radiation. this woman is