The March 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was the most severe event to occur at a light-water nuclear power plant and challenged many assumptions of nuclear plant operators and regulators around the world with regard to the safety of such plants. However, there is continuing debate regarding the extent to which the accident sounds a warning for nuclear power plants in the United States, given that few plants here are prone to the unusual set of circumstances ---a massive earthquake and tsunami -- that triggered the meltdowns. This talk will address aspects of the accident that have safety implications for all nuclear power plants and discuss why major new nuclear safety measures are necessary to reduce the risk of another Fukushima occurring in the United States.
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