How Worried Should We Be About Radiation From Japan's Nuclear
Plant?  As the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan
becomes more and more serious, so do worries about radioactive
material leaking from the reactors. PM explains what the
reactors are releasing now, and how bad the situation could
become.  By Olivia Koski  DigitalGlobe/Getty Images The
radiation leaks at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant have
gone from bad to worse. First workers vented small amounts of
radioactive gas to try to cool the reactors in danger of going
into meltdown. Then, on March 15, radiation levels shot up to
1000 times higher than previously recorded after an explosion at
a fourth facility housing spent fuel rods. On March 16,
according to the AP, plant operators briefly pulled the 50
remaining workers out of Fukushima after radiation levels
suddenly spiked again, and then ordered them back in to resume
their attempts to stave off an even larger disaster. But just
how bad could radiation leaks become?  "There has bee