Dr. Harold Hastings and Suzy DeFrancis of the American Red Cross talk about the race against time to prevent a nuclear meltdown in Japan.

MSNBC TRANSCRIPT:

>> bring in dr. harold hastings, the chair of the physics department here at hofstra and susy defrancis with the american red cross. a pleasure to have you both. dr. hastings, do you agree with the assessment out of the european union officials day characterizing the situation as out of control?

>> let me just begin by saying that what we heard before was the major disaster. the disaster was the tsunami, and tragically probably everyone missing is not going to be alive. it will be more than 10,000 deaths. compared to that, the nuclear event is bad, but it’s nowhere near as bad. it looks like they’re now getting it under control. if we can get the rad ag — sorry, if we can get the reactor cooled down, then it would be a simple matter to shut things down. i think people are having it under control. i would leave the area if i could, just as a common-sense safety measure, but the major problem is really the tsunami and the radiation risks ? are there, but i think the real thing is not to overreact to it.

>> speaking of the known and real disaster, suzie, that is the tsunami and was born out in the reporting that we just saw from lee cowen at that hospital, can you give us a sense of your assessment of your organization’s and others like you, your ability to respond to this at this point?

>> the japanese red cross, which is our counterpart is a very strong relief organization. they have about 2 million volunteers. they have already mobilized. they help serve medical needs. actually in jaap they operate a number of the hospitals, and they have medical teams out treating people for everything from inhaling saltwater to burns to hypothermia. you mentioned the cold weather there, particularly hard on an elderly population. so they are out responding, as you mentioned, there’s over a half a million people in shelters. that’s a huge number of people, and they’re going to be there probably for a very long time, because they’ve lost their homes and their livelihoods, not to mention loved ones. so tending to their needs, whether it’s food, water, blankets, and then mental health needs. as you said, these people have been through multiple shocks and crises. we have a very strong organization, and they are a great partner for us, and the money that we’re raising will go to the japanese red cross to help with those needs.

>> and then turning back to the nuclear disaster, or the nuclear variable is really what i should call it, dr. hastings, what gives you the relative confidence that whatever happens here will likely pale in comparison to what’s already broadband dealt with.

>> let’s just ask ourselves what is likely to happen. there’s been a partial meltdown. the partial meltdown might end up leaving radioactive ? particles in the water around, but that can be measured and assessed. you would need other water supplies, buzz that a probe people know how to deal with. radiation on the ground, some of it has a short half life, and of course for who are far away, as you get farther away, the plumes do disperse, so there’s another factor, which is around. if you look at even the chernobyl disaster, the loss in lives i’ve seen numbers under 100 from that, and this is nowhere near. that did not have containment vessels. this has containment vessels. this is a very different design. and i think the assessments that we have seen that it’s likely somewhat worse than three mile island, and not as bad as chernobyl to my mind are still correct. the estimates from three mile islands are that only a single cancer death was due to three mile island. it was probably more dangerous to drive out of the area than to be there.

>> i want to turn to the area itself suzy, if i can. how much every an assessment is there geographically, specifically with so many of the home will you see. if you could, put this in the context of other relief efforts that your organization and your sister organizations have dealt with?

>> sure. well, if you compare the number of people in shelters, it’s probably well over what we had in shelters after katrina. in katrina, remember, we were sheltering in like 31 states, because the population had spread. but this is a big number, over half a million. i think that the coast, the whole line there, it would be like los angeles to san francisco, that’s how big and long the area is. so just getting into those areas and covering it, we learned in the early days that there were just pockets of people cut off with no help at all. those are the people we are most i think they’re finally getting to them, but these are long-term needs. i should mention that the american red cross has made an initial contribution of $10 million to the japanese red cross to help them with their needs. as i said, they’re a very strong society, but even a very strong organization at a time like this, with this kind of overwhelming need needs help.

>> what can folks that would like to be able to help and surely feel in many cases either powerless or impotent on some way as they consume all this horrible information, what do you advise people to do that would like to help to channel that in a way that’s most beneficial?

>> what the japanese red cross has told us is they would be grateful for financial contributions and really unearmarked contribution, so as the days until fold they can spend for the greatest needs. they distributed already 76,000 blankets already. they’re going to need to replenish them and probably have more. but the financial contribution allows them the flexibility they need to meet the needs that are going to be forth coming.

>> thank you so much, both of you for incredibly valuable information. dr. hastings, thank you for the context, and suzy, again thank you for helping us get a better understanding of what’s going on and what we can do to try to be remotely helpful.