But please pay no attention to that, or some of the realister scenarios of what's to come, as reported by The Economist:
But even if the fuel doesn't melt, there are other dangers. The fuel rods could still get hot enough to damage their cladding and release radioactive particles into the air. And a completely dry pond would expose the rods to the open sky. If this happens gamma rays, which can pass through air much more easily than other radiation does, could pose a threat to anyone in the line of sight. That may explain why the army's helicopters seemed reluctant to linger over the site for long, and are reported to have been fitted with extra shielding. Gamma rays scattered off particles in the air—a phenomenon known as "skyshine"—could contribute to the raised radiation levels around the plant. At the site of the dried pond radiation of various different sorts, some with shorter ranges, would in all likelihood be too high for plant workers to get anywhere near, further hampering efforts to keep the situation under control. This is one of the problems Mr Jaczo was warning of, and it fits with reports that the police had to abandon attempts to fill the ponds using water cannon because radiation levels prevented them from getting close enough.
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