If one or all three nuclear plants meltdown how far would the effects reach? I am in Okinawa,japan. ? ?

I'm not going to pretend I'm an expert on something this serious but at this exact point I would say you're ok for now. Since new things are happening every hour this could certainly change. If enough radiation was leaked AND the winds were right I suppose it could probably reach Okinawa. I'd talk to others around the area to find out what they think. I wish you good luck and all the best

Also, I'm very sorry that idiot people like itguru5354 exist in this world. You have every right to be worried about your family. That is not selfish whatsoever.

They say that within 19 miles of the meltdown people are in danger from radiation exposure. So, it is good advice for everyone to leave if you can afford to. I feel that the workers that stayed to help and solve the leak should be national hero's.

God bless you all, my prayers are with everyone there, and I will be sending money to contribute to help. I feel so bad for everyone in Japan.

As of right now things are looking good for us here in oki with the reactors seeming to be cooling. If worst case cenario happens and we have a cherynobel incident all over again we will be evacuated. I do know that some civilian families are in route to a base here on island because my husband is working with the group making arrangements. If they are bringing people here to camp out it's safe to say they feel we are out of harms way! I personally have a bag for each of our family members with a few pairs of clean clothes and some toys for our children to play with. I also have a folder with our passports, ss cards, and other important information ready just in case things take a turn for the worse. Don't freak out. It will only make it harder to cope! If you need someone to talk to here on island you can privately contact me and we can try and support each other. As for those who say we are selfish! F them! It's easy to say you would do things a certain way and act accordingly, but when you have to make decisions for your children you will do anything to keep them out of harms way! Any parent would agree.

It depends on the air currents really. Immediate fallout lasts about 30 seconds from release, so at a certain speed that could easily reach Tokyo but considering Okinawa's distance you don't have to worry about that. the next type of fallout last longer several hours and that can reach you in Okinawa if the wind is traveling from the northeast to southwest like it was. Your immediate concern is with radiation sickness which most likely won't ever reach Okinawa. The next concern is longterm health effects from radiation exposure. At the amount that could douse you in okinawa it may increase cancer rate among your children by 1-10% and that is at most. Most people not within 30 kilometers of those plants will get no more radiation than exposure to an xray would give Even if you sent them to the US their chances will still increase by 1-2% because of drop rates of radioactive isotopes, which is why I hope there is no cloud release

So they are not in immediate danger. And the danger is very limited because of your distance from the main land Japan. However, I'd be remiss in not pointing out that they are in much greater danger of tidal wave action due to the severity of those aftershocks. At any given time a 5.5 can cause a small tsunami. Anything above a 6 can cause a greater tsunami. Those aftershocks are reaching as high as 7, which makes that whole area dangerous.

If you have the money and opportunity to send them back east to the USA for a couple of weeks that alone may be worth the piece of mind as it removes them from the aftershocks and also keeps them away from any potential dose of radiation. The aftershocks should subside in another 10 days and even if a nuclear cloud is released it has a short lifespan of about 5 days. And you can have the gratification of knowing that your kids were safe for at least 10 days. Chances are there won't be another crisis event earthquake in Japan for another few years and the next one will not be nearly as big so even when they return they will be safe. So yeah I'd send them, not because they are in any real danger, but because it would ease your mind during this stressful period and because of the increased risk of tsunami for the next ten days it makes it easier to stay prepared

Well put it in prospective, do you have any idea how many nukes the United States, Russia, China, Great Britain, France, India, Pakistan detonated above ground, prior the test treaties calling for under ground testing?

That's in addition to the two cities we vaporized in Japan in 1945. We nuked many islands in the pacific closer to you then japan, and we blasted a bunch of holes in the nevada test range.

So I wouldn't worry

It really depends on whether the melted down reactor explodes and spreads large amounts of radiation. If they can keep this from happening, they will bury the reactors in concrete and leave them for 1,000 years or more.
The explosions so far are not nuclear explosions, but hydrogen explosions caused by extreme heat. They are releasing only small amounts of radiation.
But just in case, make sure you and your children take iodine supplements, and don't eat any vegetables or milk that is produced in the affected areas, until tests show that it is safe.

Don't know. Never happened before.

You're just another selfish person. Look at the people who live in the northern part of Japan, they're now in a worse situation. Also, no one can predict exactly how far the radioactive substances in the air can reach because it depends on the wind direction and speed. If you worry about your kids, just send them back to states now and stop asking this kind of question. And, I bet you have not done your part to support the survivors who needed help the most. Go make your donation to red cross.