The document summarizes the Japanese nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and the U.S. response. It provides details on the status of units at the plant, the boiling water reactor design, and safety measures in place at U.S. nuclear plants. It also outlines short-term industry actions being taken in the U.S. to verify safety following lessons learned from Fukushima.

1. Japanese Nuclear Accident And U.S. Response March 23, 2011

2. Nuclear Energy in Japan 54 operating nuclear reactors (49 gigawatts) Two nuclear plants under construction Tokyo Electric Power Co. produces 27% of Japan’s electricity 12,000 MW of nuclear energy capacity shut down

3. Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Before the Accident Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Units 5, 6 At the time of the earthquake Reactors 1, 2 and 3 operating Reactors 4, 5 and 6 shutdown for maintenance, inspection, refueling

4. Status of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant Unit 1 Hydrogen explosion, fuel damage, seawater cooling the reactor vessel, status of spent fuel pool unclear Unit 2 Fuel damage, seawater cooling the reactor vessel, cooling water restored to spent fuel pool Unit 3 Hydrogen explosion, fuel damage, seawater cooling the reactor vessel, water sprayed into spent fuel pool Unit 4 Reactor core offloaded, fire and possible hydrogen explosion, damage to spent fuel in fuel pool Units 5 and 6 Stable with power and cooling water circulation restored

5. Boiling Water Reactor Design Spent Fuel Pool Reactor Vessel Suppression Pool (Torus) Primary Containment Steel Containment Vessel Secondary Containment Area of Explosion at Fukushima Daiichi Units 1 and 3 Seawater Is Being Pumped Into Reactor Vessels at Units 1, 2 and 3 Boiling Water Reactor Design At Fukushima Daiichi

6. U.S. Nuclear Plants Are Safe “ Our nuclear power plants have undergone exhaustive study, and have been declared safe for any number of extreme contingencies. ” President Barack Obama March 17, 2011 “ All the plants in the United States are designed to deal with a wide range of natural disasters, whether it’s earthquakes, tornados, tsunamis, other seismic events. We require all of them to deal with those.” NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko March 17, 2011

7. Radiological Safety in the U.S. “ Radiation monitors confirm that no radiation levels of concern have reached the united states” Joint EPA/DOE statement, March 18, 2011 “ Given the thousands of miles between the two countries, Hawaii, Alaska, the U.S. Territories and the U.S. West Coast are not expected to experience any harmful levels of radioactivity.” NRC press release, March 13, 2011 “ At this time, CDC does not recommend that people in the United States take KI or iodine supplements in response to the nuclear power plant explosions in Japan” Center for Disease Control website, March 21, 2011

8. Emergency Planning for U.S. Nuclear Energy Facilities 10-mile emergency planning zone (evacuation or sheltering); 50-mile monitoring zone for environment and food. Radiation monitoring by plant site, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and state and local personnel from the site and surrounding areas Decisions on public precautionary measures made by state or local authorities based on recommendations from plant operator and NRC Emergency plan exercises in coordination with state, local, and federal officials, evaluated by the NRC and FEMA

10. Protection of Plant Workers All plants have extensive radiation detection and monitoring capabilities Protecting workers is the highest priority Procedures in place to govern work practices and limit radiation exposure Workers receive extensive training on radiation safety and emergency responsibilities

11. U.S. Nuclear Power Plants Prepared for Extreme Events Maximum credible earthquakes and floods Loss of off-site power and on-site power Hydrogen generation as a result of fuel damage during loss-of-coolant accidents Post 9/11: aircraft impact, loss of large areas of the plant Industry preparation, training, etc. exceed NRC requirements U.S. industry has long history of continuous learning

12. U.S. Industry Taking Steps to Ensure Safety at Nuclear Power Plants Nuclear energy industry will take short-term and long-term actions Short-term: Verify readiness to manage extreme events Long-term: Careful analysis of Japanese accident and how reactors, systems, structures, components, fuel and operators performed Incorporate lessons learned into U.S. reactor designs and operating practices

13. Short-Term Industry Actions to Ensure Safety Verify each plant's capability to manage major challenges, such as aircraft impacts, loss of large areas of plant due to natural events, fires or explosions Verify each plant's capability to manage loss of off-site power Verify capability to mitigate flooding and the impact of floods on systems inside and outside the plant Perform walk-downs and inspection of important equipment needed to respond to extreme events

14. Reaction in United States NRC will conduct comprehensive review of all U.S. nuclear power plants to ensure safety Measured response from political and policy community Focused on learning, applying lessons Likely increased attention to U.S. used fuel management policy Centralized interim storage a strategic priority Little visible impact on new nuclear plant development

15. Information Sources Nuclear Energy Institute ( www.nei.org ) U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ( www.nrc.gov ) U.S. Department of Energy ( www.energy.gov ) International Atomic Energy Agency ( www.iaea.org ) American Nuclear Society ( www.ans.org ) Health Physics Society ( www.hps.org ) Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency ( http://www.nisa.meti.go.jp/english/ ) Japan Atomic Industrial Forum ( www.jaif.or.jp/english/ ) Tokyo Electric Power Company ( http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/index-e.html )