The whole radioactive Idea came from the Russians in the 50s and 60s. They would use nuclear bombs underground to close things up, but they had some that blew up above ground (translation, in open water), and ended up making it impossible for anyone go to down there due to the high radiation levels.
It's horrible what's happening down there. I can't imagine what the families are going through... the only good news so far is that all the capping they've started doing is actually slowing things down. But it's still going to be a Long, Weary Recovery..
