Which U.S. Reactors Have the Same Design as the Reactors that Suffered Cooling System Failures in Japan?
The unfolding nuclear emergency in Japan is a sobering reminder of the dangers of nuclear power. This post provides a list of all U.S. reactors that share the same design as the stricken Fukushima Daiichi reactors in Japan.
The stricken reactors (1, 2, and 3) at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station are General Electric Mark I boiling water reactors. There are 23 reactors of this type in the United States. The .pdf file linked to below provides a list of these reactors, derived from a list of active reactors maintained by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Experts have long criticized the ability of this reactor to contain a disaster, although it was approved for use by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Designers attempted to reduce the cost of the reactor by reducing the size of the containment structure.
Fukushima Daini reactors, which suffered a temporary failure of cooling systems and now appear to be under control (as of March 15) are all General Electric Mark III boiling water reactors. Reactors of this type in the United States are listed on the third page of the .pdf file linked below.
General-Electric-Mark-I-Boiling-Water-Reactors-in-the-United-States.pdf