The mass was likely to pass within 30,000 miles of us, and scientists warned it might actually impact, but NASA came to the rescue to dispute the claim and fear effect. But what if it did hit or another smaller asteroid hit earth, and by chance, it hit near a nuclear reactor or a waste site. The impact of a large enough asteroid near radiation sites could very easily cause a nuclear accident, a nuclear catastrophe.

An asteroid the size of the XF11, could release enough energy equal to 2 million Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs. It could cause tidal waves. Continent-sized fires. Eruptions of dust that could cast the world in shadow for months. And if we don't find ways to render nuclear reactors and nuclear waste safe, the dust, tidal waves, air could become heavily contaminated with radiation.
 

 Future forecast and impact locations will give warnings and hopefully cause further placement of fail safes for the nuclear business, but until then, its a guessing game. 

Most of the asteroids that could strike the Earth and cause a global catastrophe have not yet been found. For the year 2028 (or any other year) the chances of an unknown asteroid hitting the Earth are much greater than the chances of this particular asteroid hitting. If an unknown asteroid should hit us, we would likely have no warning at all. The first we would know of the danger is when we saw the flash of light and felt the ground shake.  At the current rate of discovery, it will take more than a century to find 90% or more of the objects this large with Earth-crossing orbits. For better or for worse, the astronomers who carry out these searches and orbit calculations work in the public eye. The idea that a threatening asteroid could be kept secret (or that anyone would want to keep it secret) is ludicrous.
For further information see the NASA asteroid and comet impact hazard website at:
http://impact.arc.nasa.gov
- Dr.David Morrison

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