Nightly News   |  March 19, 2011

Radiation found in food as Japan rushes to curb crisis

The desperate effort to stop the radiation disaster is showing some encouraging signs, but as NBC’s Robert Bazell reports, there are new worries about the food supply.

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This content comes from Closed Captioning that was broadcast along with this program.

>>> we want to turn now to the crisis in japan. there are new worries on the radiation leak and the food supply now.

>> reporter: lester, the desperate effort to stop the radiation disaster is showing some encouraging signs, but it is far from over and the discovery of contaminated milk and spinach shows why the race against time . 1,500 tons of water should be enough to fill the tank which should look like this covers spent fuel rods that have been exposed and emitting radiation. if the tank does not have a major leak.

>> we think we have succeeded in stabilizing the situation.

>> engineers will try to get the pumps running again. in five and six, diesel powered generators have the water circulating again and the temperature is dropping.

>> there is a slight chance that one of the reactors will have a late failure. they are getting cooler all the time and they seem to have a way of getting water into the cool r er cores. it is a fragile situation and there is a potential for a mistake.

>> reporter: the damage has been done. the contaminatta damage tame.

>> the spinach was found 60 mile to the south.

>> most of the limits are set low to begin with. so five times higher than the legal limit still would not be enough to cause a discernible health effect .

>> reporter: the government said drinking a glass of contaminated milk for a whole year would expose a person to the radiation found in one ct scan . people leaving fukashima were recommended to take iodine tablets.

>> reporter: those don't exceed safety standards du s but experts say if the reactor was brought under control tomorrow and it won't be, rad yo active contamination will continue for weeks