shortformblog:

GRAPHIC: Examining U.S. nuclear reactor/fault line geography

Some nuclear power food for thought: A lot of tumult has been taking place here in America over the nuclear crisis unfolding in Japan. This has ranged from rational concerns (this model of reactor seems unsafe!) to the not-so-rational ones (I need to buy potassium iodide RIGHT NOW!). With that in mind, we’ve decided to focus on a simple, practically important question; if the Mark 1 Reactor is indeed inferior on safety, where are ours and are they earthquake safe? The map tells the tale: 23 plants are presently using a Mark 1, all of which are in the eastern half of the country. (h/t to the USGS, Reuters and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the sources of the maps we used). source

Now seems like a good time to bring this back to the fore, considering that the quake happened near a nuclear power plant.