Q UESTIONS AND A NSWERS
ABOUT THE UNFOLDING NUCLEAR CRISIS IN JAPAN, FOLLOWING THE MARCH 11, 2011
EARTHQUAKE
By Frontier Group, for Staff of the Public Interest Network
Updated March 14, 1 PM Pacific Time
BACKGROUND
The unfolding nuclear emergency in Japan has raised questions amongst our own staff and in our
own communities. We have prepared this factsheet to attempt to provide answers where
information is available, and will attempt to keep it updated as the situation unfolds.
WHAT IS HAPPENING?
On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered an earthquake off the northeastern coast of the main island,
Honshu. The earthquake was an 8.9 on the Richter scale, the strongest ever recorded in Japan,
and one of the strongest earthquakes recorded on the planet in the last century. Following the
quake, a tsunami flooded nearby coastal areas, causing widespread damage.
The damage affected several nuclear power plants in the country.1 Eleven separate reactors shut
down automatically in the incident.
Even after a reactor shuts down, the cooling systems must remain active in order to keep the
reactor core from overheating, which could cause fuel to melt and potentially release radioactive
material into the atmosphere. (For a more detailed explanation, see this article from the New
York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/14/world/asia/japan-fukushima-nuclearreactor.html)
At the Fukushima Daiicihi Nuclear Power Station, backup diesel power generators failed, cutting
off power to the cooling system for reactors number 1, 2 and 3.2 Pressure levels inside several of
the reactors began to rise beyond safe levels. Plant operators declared an emergency situation.
Local government evacuated nearby residents to a distance of 6 miles. And plant operators began
to vent the extra pressure while teams attempted to connect and activate another emergency
backup power system.3 Later, a state of emergency and evacuation area was declared at the
Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Station, 10 miles away, where backup cooling systems failed
for three out of four reactors.4
“Massive Earthquake Hits Japan: Update 8, 9:48 GMT,” World Nuclear News, 11 March 2011.
“Massive Earthquake Hits Japan: Update 8, 9:48 GMT,” World Nuclear News, 11 March 2011.
3
“Massive Earthquake Hits Japan: Update 8, 9:48 GMT,” World Nuclear News, 11 March 2011.
4
“Five Nuclear Reactors Under State of Emergency,” Associated Press, 11 March, 6:21 PM, available at
www.suntimes.com/4258154-417/five-nuclear-reactors-in-state-of-emergency-in-japan.html.
1
2
Venting caused hydrogen gas to build up in two buildings housing reactor vessels at Fukushima
Daiichi. Explosions destroyed the buildings, but apparently not the reactor vessels.
In a last-ditch effort to cool three reactors at Fukushima Daiichi, operators began a plan to pump
seawater containing boron into the reaction chamber to cool the fuel rods and quench any fission
reactions – essentially abandoning any hope of salvaging the reactor for future use. But the effort
was fraught with technical difficulties. As of noon pacific time, the effort failed at least
temporarily, and fuel rods were exposed to open air, beginning to melt down – increasing the risk
of a breach of reactor containment and an uncontrolled release of radioactive material.5
Even if the seawater quenching procedure succeeds, it will require periodic venting of
radioactive steam into the atmosphere, potentially for months into the future.6 Radioactive
material, possibly from the fuel rods, was detected as far as 60 miles from the reactor site.7
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
*Control-click on the question below to jump to that point in the document*
How many U.S. nuclear plants are located near earthquake faults? ........................................... 2
How large of an earthquake could U.S. nuclear plants withstand? ............................................ 3
Which U.S. reactors have the same design as the reactors that suffered cooling system failures
in Japan?...................................................................................................................................... 4
What U.S. nuclear reactors are located near large population centers? ...................................... 7
What are other people saying? .................................................................................................. 10
Please direct any additional questions to add to this factsheet to travis@frontiergroup.org.
HOW MANY U.S. NUCLEAR PLANTS ARE LOCATED NEAR EARTHQUAKE
FAULTS?
The World Nuclear Association estimates that 20 percent of nuclear reactors worldwide operate
in areas vulnerable to earthquakes.8
In the United States, several nuclear reactors in California and New York are located on or near
known faults. Other parts of the country where nuclear plants now exist are seismically active,
although not so much as the West Coast.
Hiroko Tabuchi, Keith Bradsher, and Matthew Wald, “Emergency Cooling Effort Failing at Japanese Reactor,
Deepening Crisis,” New York Times, 14 March 2011.
6
David E. Sanger and Matthew Wald, “Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say,” New York
Times, 13 March 2011.
7
David E. Sanger and Matthew Wald, “Radioactive Releases in Japan Could Last Months, Experts Say,” New York
Times, 13 March 2011.
8
World Nuclear Association, Nuclear Power and Earthquakes (factsheet), January 2011, available at www.worldnuclear.org/info/inf18.html.
5
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Two reactors at Diablo Canyon, (near the town of San Luis Obispo, CA) are 3 miles from
the Hosgri Fault line and about half a mile from an offshore fault line scientists
discovered in 2008.9
Two reactors at San Onofre (next to Interstate 5 between Los Angeles and San Diego,
CA) are 5 miles from the Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault.10
Two reactors at the Indian Point, NY nuclear power plant are one mile from a recentlydiscovered intersection of two active fault lines. Close to 10 million people live within 25
miles of the Indian Point facility.11
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission notes that the Midwest and Eastern United States,
while less seismically active than the West Coast, still face an appreciable risk of earthquakes.
The commission notes that in the early 1800s, three large earthquakes – between 7 and 7.7 on the
Richter scale – affected the Eastern United States, with an epicenter in Missouri. Another similar
earthquake struck Charleston, South Carolina in 1886.12
Western Ohio is the second-most seismically active area in the Eastern United States behind
Missouri.13 An earthquake there in 1986 affected the Perry nuclear power plant, for example,
breaking pipes and equipment – but the plant had not yet begun operation.14
HOW LARGE OF AN EARTHQUAKE COULD U.S. NUCLEAR PLANTS WITHSTAND?
According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, historical earthquake activity at the
location of a proposed plant is an important part of reactor design standards.15 Commission staff
determine the largest “credible” earthquake that could occur at a given site, and require engineers
to design the plant to withstand that force, plus an added margin of safety.
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According to a spokesperson for Southern California Edison, the San Onofre nuclear
power plant is designed to withstand a magnitude 7.0 earthquake happening 5 miles
away.16
According to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Diablo Canyon is designed to
withstand a magnitude 7.5 earthquake 3 miles away.17
“Diablo Canyon Deemed Safe From New Earthquake Fault,” Environment News Service, 14 April 2009, available
at www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2009/2009-04-14-091.html.
10
Onell Soto, “San Onofre nuclear plant tsunami-ready,” San Diego Union Tribune, 11 March 2011.
11
Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Earthquakes May Endanger New York More Than
Thought, Says Study (press release), 25 August 2008.
12
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Fact Sheet on Seismic Issues for Existing Nuclear Power Plants, 10
November 2010. Available at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/fs-seismic-issues.html.
13
James Hannah, “Earthquake risk exists in Ohio: Western half of state is second-most active seismic zone in
eastern U.S.,” Cincinnati Enquirer, 9 July 2000.
14
Moid Ahmad and Jeffery Smith, “Earthquakes, injection wells, and the Perry Nuclear Power Plant, Cleveland,
Ohio,” Geology 16: 739-742, August 1988.
15
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Fact Sheet on Seismic Issues for Existing Nuclear Power Plants, 10
November 2010. Available at www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/fs-seismic-issues.html.
16
Onell Soto, “San Onofre nuclear plant tsunami-ready,” San Diego Union Tribune, 11 March 2011.
17
Goutam Bagchi, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Diablo Canyon Seismic Review, presentation at Seismic
Information Workshop, 8-9 September 2010, downloaded from www.nrc.gov/public-involve/conferencesymposia/seismic-info/presentations/session5-bagchi.pdf.
9
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A spokesperson for the Indian Point nuclear power plant in New York told Reuters that
the plant was designed to survive an earthquake of magnitude 6.1 on the Richter scale.18
The New York Times published an article on March 14 featuring the opinion of Ross Stein, a
geological physicist at the U.S. Geological Survey, in the aftermath of the Japan quake. The
article reads:19
What is perhaps most surprising about the Japan earthquake is how misleading history
can be. In the past 300 years, no earthquake nearly that large — nothing larger than
magnitude-eight — had struck in the Japan subduction zone. That, in turn, led to
assumptions about how large a tsunami might strike the coast.
“It did them a giant disservice,” said Dr. Stein of the geological survey. That is not the
first time that the earthquake potential of a fault has been underestimated. Most
geophysicists did not think the Sumatra fault could generate a magnitude-9.1 earthquake,
and a magnitude-7.3 earthquake in Landers, Calif., in 1992 also caught earthquake
experts by surprise.
“Perhaps the message is we should re-evaluate the occurrence of superlarge earthquakes
on any fault,” Dr. Stein said.
WHICH U.S. REACTORS HAVE THE SAME DESIGN AS THE REACTORS THAT
SUFFERED COOLING SYSTEM FAILURES IN JAPAN?
Fukushima Dai-Ichi reactors are General Electric Mark I boiling water reactors.20
There are 23 reactors of this type in the United States, including:21
Plant Name,
Unit Number
Location
Licensee
Date of
First
Commercia
l Operation
Renewed
Operating
License
Issued
Operating
License
Expires
Browns Ferry
Nuclear Plant,
Unit 1
Athens, AL (32
MI W of
Huntsville, AL)
Tenessee
Valley
Authority
8/1/1974
5/4/2006
12/20/2033
Browns Ferry
Nuclear Plant,
Unit 2
Athens, AL (32
MI W of
Huntsville, AL)
Tenessee
Valley
Authority
3/1/1975
5/4/2006
6/28/2034
Timothy Gardner, “NY nuclear plant likely a quake risk: study,” Reuters, 22 August 2008.
Kenneth Chang, “Quake Moves Japan Closer to U.S. and Alters Earth’s Spin,” New York Times, 14 March 2011.
20
Nuclear Information and Resource Service, Factsheet on Fukushima Power Plant, downloaded from
www.nirs.org/reactorwatch/accidents/Fukushimafactsheet.pdf on 11 March 2011.
21
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Information Digest, 2010–2011: Appendix A, (NUREG-1350, Volume 22),
August 2010.
18
19
Browns Ferry
Nuclear Plant,
Unit 3
Wheeler Lake, AL
(10 MI SW of
Athens, AL)
Tenessee
Valley
Authority
3/1/1977
5/4/2006
7/2/2036
Brunswick
Steam Electric
Plant, Unit 1
Southport, NC (40
MI S of
Wilmington, NC)
Carolina
Power &
Light Co.
3/18/1977
6/26/2006
9/8/2036
Brunswick
Steam Electric
Plant, Unit 2
Southport, NC (40
MI S of
Wilmington, NC)
Carolina
Power &
Light Co.
11/3/1975
6/26/2006
12/27/2034
Cooper
Nuclear
Station
Brownville, NE
(23 MI S of
Nebraska
City, NE)
Nebraska
Public
Power
District
7/1/1974
Dresden
Nuclear Power
Station, Unit 2
Morris, IL (25 M
SW of Joliet, IL)
Exelon
Generation
Co., LLC
6/9/1970
10/28/2004
12/22/2029
Dresden
Nuclear Power
Station, Unit 3
Morris, IL (25 M
SW of Joliet, IL)
Exelon
Generation
Co., LLC
11/16/1971
10/28/2004
1/12/2031
Duane Arnold
Energy Center
Palo, IA (8 MI
NW of Cedar
Rapids, IA)
FPL Energy 2/1/1975
Duane
Arnold,
LLC
Edwin I.
Hatch Nuclear
Plant, Unit 1
Baxley , GA (20
MI S of
Vidalia, GA)
Southern
Nuclear
Operating
Co.
12/31/1975
1/15/2002
8/6/2034
Edwin I.
Hatch Nuclear
Plant, Unit 2
Baxley , GA (20
MI S of
Vidalia, GA)
Southern
Nuclear
Operating
Co.
9/5/1979
1/15/2002
6/13/2038
Fermi, Unit 2
Newport, MI (25
MI NE of
Toledo, OH)
The Detroit
Edison Co.
1/23/1988
3/20/2025
Hope Creek
Generating
Hancock Bridge,
NJ (18 MI SE of
PSEG
Nuclear,
12/20/1986
4/11/2026
1/18/2014
2/21/2014
Station, Unit 1
Wilmington, DE)
LLC
James A.
FitzPatrick
Nuclear Power
Plant
Scriba, NY (6 MI
NE of
Oswego, NY)
Entergy
Nuclear
Operations,
Inc.
7/28/1975
9/8/2008
10/17/2034
Monticello
Nuclear
Generating
Plant, Unit 1
Monticello, MN
(30 MI NW of
Minneapolis, MN
)
Northern
States
Power
Company
6/30/1971
11/8/2006
9/8/2030
Nine Mile
Point Nuclear
Station, Unit 1
Scriba, NY (6 MI
NE of
Oswego, NY)
Nine Mile
Point
Nuclear
Station,
LLC
12/1/1969
10/31/2006
8/22/2029
Oyster Creek
Nuclear
Generating
Station, Unit 1
Forked River, NJ
(9 MI S of Toms
River, NJ)
Exelon
Generation
Co., LLC
12/1/1969
4/8/2009
4/9/2029
Peach Bottom
Atomic Power
Station, Unit 2
Delta, PA (17.9
MI S of
Lancaster, PA)
Exelon
Generation
Co., LLC
7/5/1974
5/7/2003
8/8/2033
Peach Bottom
Atomic Power
Station, Unit 3
Delta, PA (17.9
MI S of
Lancaster, PA)
Exelon
Generation
Co., LLC
12/23/1974
5/7/2003
7/2/2034
Pilgrim
Nuclear Power
Station
Plymouth, MA (38 Entergy
MI SE of Boston, Nuclear
MA)
Operations,
Inc.
12/1/1972
Quad Cities
Nuclear Power
Station, Unit 1
Cordova, IL (20
MI NE of
Moline, IL)
Exelon
Generation
Co., LLC
2/18/1973
10/28/2004
12/14/2032
Quad Cities
Nuclear Power
Station, Unit 2
Cordova, IL (20
MI NE of
Moline, IL)
Exelon
Generation
Co., LLC
3/10/1973
10/28/2004
12/14/2032
Vermont
Yankee
Nuclear Power
Vernon, VT (5 MI
S of
Entergy
Nuclear
Operations,
11/30/1972
6/8/2012
3/21/2012
Plant, Unit 1
Brattleboro, VT)
Inc.
The Nuclear Information and Resource Service has prepared a factsheet on common design
flaws with this type of reactor, available here: http://www.nirs.org/factsheets/bwrfact.htm
Fukushima Dai-Ni reactors are all General Electric Mark III boiling water reactors.22 Reactors of
this type in the United States include:23
Plant Name,
Unit
Number
Location
Licensee
Date of
First
Commercial
Operation
Renewed
Operating
License
Issued
Operating
License
Expires
Clinton
Power
Station, Unit
1
Clinton, IL (23 MI
SSE of
Bloomington, IL)
Exelon
Generation
Co., LLC
2/24/1976
4/17/1987
11/24/1987
Grand Gulf
Nuclear
Station, Unit
1
Port Gibson, MS
(20 MI S of
Vicksburg, MS)
Entergy
Nuclear
Operations,
Inc.
9/4/1974
11/1/1984
7/1/1985
Perry
Nuclear
Power Plant,
Unit 1
Perry, OH (35 MI
NE of
Cleveland, OH)
First Energy
Nuclear
Operating
Co.
5/3/1977
11/13/1986
11/18/1987
River Bend
Station, Unit
1
St. Francisville,
LA (24 MI NNW
of Baton
Rouge, LA)
Entergy
Nuclear
Operations,
Inc.
3/25/1977
11/20/1985
6/16/1986
WHAT U.S. NUCLEAR REACTORS ARE LOCATED NEAR LARGE POPULATION
CENTERS?
[Census population data if necessary can be found here:
http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en]
New York: 24
22
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_boiling_water_reactors)
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Information Digest, 2010–2011: Appendix A, (NUREG-1350, Volume 22),
August 2010.
23
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Indian Point – 24 miles north of New York City
Connecticut:


Connecticut Yankee – near Meridian, CT. Closer than 25 miles to Hartford and New
Haven, CT.
Waterford – 3 miles from New London, CT
Massachusetts

Pilgrim – 40 miles south of Boston
New Hampshire

Seabrook – 13 miles south of Portsmouth
Vermont

Vermont Yankee – 5 miles south of Brattleboro
Maryland

Calvert Cliffs – 45 miles from Washington D.C.
New Jersey:


Salem and Hope Creek – 18 miles north of Wilmington, DE
Oyster Creek – 9 miles south of Tom’s River
Pennsylvania:




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Peach Bottom – 18 miles south of Lancaster, PA
Limerick – 21 miles northwest of Philadelphia
Beaver Valley – about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh
Three Mile Island – 10 miles southeast of Harrisburg
Susquehanna – about 25 miles to Wilkes-Barre, PA
Florida:

Turkey Point – 25 miles from Miami
Louisiana:

Waterford – 20 miles from New Orleans
North Carolina

24
McGuire – 17 miles from Charlotte, NC
Proximity data: U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Information Digest, 2010–2011: Appendix A, (NUREG1350, Volume 22), August 2010.

Shearon Harris – 20 miles from Raleigh-Durham, NC
South Carolina:

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Virgil C. Summer – about 30 miles from Columbia, SC
Catawba – about 30 miles from Charlotte, NC
Tennessee:

Sequoyah – 10 miles from Chattanooga
Virginia:

Surry – 17 miles from Newport News
Illinois:

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
Dresden – about 20 miles from Joliet, IL
Zion – 6 miles from Waukegan, IL and 8 miles from Kenosha, WI
Byron – 17 miles from Rockford, IL
Ohio:


Davis-Besse – 21 miles from Toledo, OH
Perry – 7 miles from Painesville, OH
Michigan:


Enrico Fermi – 25 miles from Toledo, OH
Donald Cook – 11 miles from Benton Harbor, MI
Missouri:

Callaway – 10 miles from Fulton, 25 miles from Jefferson City
Arizona:

Palo Verde – 36 miles from Phoenix
California:

San Onofre – 4 miles from San Clemente. About 30 miles from Costa Mesa and
Oceanside.
WHAT ARE OTHER PEOPLE SAYING?
Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) has called for a moratorium on the construction of
nuclear power facilities in the United States.
“I think it calls on us here in the U.S., naturally, not to stop building nuclear power plants but to
put the brakes on right now until we understand the ramifications of what’s happened in Japan,”
Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut and one of the Senate’s leading voices
on energy, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” 25
Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a senior member of the House Energy and
Commerce Committee, sent a letter to Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Chairman
Greg Jaczko requesting additional information on the potential impacts of today’s massive
earthquake on Japan’s nuclear facilities as well as any implications for America’s domestic
nuclear industry.26
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“This disaster serves to highlight both the fragility of nuclear power plants and the
potential consequences associated with a radiological release caused by earthquakerelated damage,” wrote Rep. Markey to Chairman Jaczko. “We must ensure that
America’s nuclear power plants can withstand a catastrophic event and abide by the
absolute highest standards for safety.”
Earlier this week, Rep. Markey wrote to Chairman Jaczko urging the NRC not to approve
Westinghouse’s design for a new nuclear reactor design, known as the AP1000, until
serious safety concerns have been addressed. Rep. Markey’s letter referenced concerns
raised by one of the Commission’s most long-serving staff that there is a risk that an
earthquake at the AP1000 could result in a catastrophic core meltdown.
“If the NRC approves the AP1000, then it may have widespread use throughout the
United States, making questions about its safety of crucial national importance,” said
Rep. Markey earlier this week. “Taxpayer dollars should not be spent on reactors that
could be at risk of suffering a catastrophic core meltdown in the event of an aircraft strike
or a major earthquake.”
Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass) said that the U.S. Government lacks a
coordinated nuclear emergency plan, and called for a moratorium on new nuclear reactors
in the United States.27

25
“I am concerned that it appears that no agency sees itself as clearly in command of
emergency response in a nuclear disaster,” writes Rep. Markey. “In stark contrast to the
scenarios contemplated for oil spills and hurricanes, there is no specificity for emergency
coordination and command in place for a response to a nuclear disaster.”
John M. Broder, U.S. Nuclear Industry Faces New Uncertainty, 13 March 2011.
Representative Edward Markey, Markey Queries NRC on Seismic Safety of Nuclear Reactors in Wake of Japan
Earthquake (press release), 11 March 2011, available at http://markey.house.gov/.
27
Representative Edward Markey, Markey: Who’s In Charge If Nuclear Disaster Hits America? (press release), 13
March 2011, available at http://markey.house.gov/.
26
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Rep. Markey also reiterated his concerns that potassium iodide, the “emergency pills”
taken after a nuclear disaster which can help prevent the cancer-causing effects of
radiation poisoning, have not been distributed to those living within 20 miles of a U.S.
nuclear facility, in contradiction with a 2002 law which Rep. Markey authored.
Rep. Markey also called for a moratorium on all new reactors that could be placed in
seismically active areas until a top-to-bottom review of design resiliency, emergency
response, backup power to prevent a meltdown during long electricity outages, and
evacuation plans has been conducted. Rep. Markey has also demanded a safety review of
the 31 reactors in the United States that are the same design as those currently
experiencing major failure in Japan.
Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass) warned that a nuclear accident like the one
occurring in Japan could also happen in the United States.28

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28
“I am shocked by the devastation that has already been caused by the earthquake and
tsunami in Japan. It is heart-breaking to see the destruction that has already taken place,
and to hear of so many people being killed or injured,” said Rep. Markey. “As a result of
this disaster, the world is now facing the looming threat of a possible nuclear meltdown at
one of the damaged Japanese nuclear reactors. I hope and pray that Japanese experts can
successfully bring these reactors under control and avert a Chernobyl-style disaster that
could release large amounts of radioactive materials into the environment.”
“I am also struck by the fact that the tragic events now unfolding in Japan could very
easily occur in the United States. What is happening in Japan right now shows that a
severe accident at a nuclear power plant can happen here," said Rep. Markey.
“The unfolding disaster in Japan must produce a seismic shift in how we address nuclear
safety here in America.”
Representative Edward Markey, Markey Warns that Japan Nuclear Accident Could Happen Here (press release),
13 March 2011, available at http://markey.house.gov/.