(Image Source: Discovery)

BY CHRISTINE SLUSSER

You're watching multisource world news analysis from Newsy

Japanese power plant workers say they all expect to die, possibly within weeks. They’ve been exposed to prolonged radiation levels above 10,000 times the normal level...on a daily basis.

Fox News reports management has asked workers to remain hush-hush to prevent public panic--but one mother of a nuclear worker tearfully spoke out, although still anonymously. She says...

“The crew accepts that they will all probably die, this a direct quote, from radiation sickness either in the short term or they expect to get cancer in the long run. And on top of that, she said her son has informed her that the crew had concluded between themselves that it’s inevitable some of them may die within a matter of days--or within weeks.”

CNN reports if the workers do survive longer, two to five years down the road they will be at increased risk for cataracts--since eyes are sensitive to radiation. And if these are the workers’ last days on Earth--they aren’t pleasant ones. A nuclear safety official says...

“The rooms are cold, and there’s no water for showers. They use wet wipes to clean themselves. They can take a bus provided by plant owners TEPCO on their day off and go 20 km away to have a shower and a rest at another facility.”

But TIME reports TEPCO’s alternatives are few and far between. One suggestion is resorting to “jumpers”, who run in, do a job, then run out. They’ve been called “glow boys” since a year’s worth of radiation can be absorbed in those few minutes. And another alternative -- robots.

“...Germany and the U.S. have also offered to lend Japan radiation-proof robots to take some of the burden off the flesh-and-blood workforce... Sure, the bot robs somebody of a salary, but it also probably saves human lives.”

Follow @Newsy_Videos on Twitter

Get more multisource video news analysis from Newsy

Transcript by Newsy