There are calls to shut down US reactors owing to earthquake concerns, despite the Japan situation being caused by a tsunami (which resulted from an earthquake).
Global earthquake activity since 1973 and nuclear power plant locations
This map shows a heatmap of 175,000 4.5+ magnitude earthquakes since 1973 based on data from the USGS (United States Geological Survey). And worldwide locations of nuclear power stations using information from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)
Amazing display revealing where the major fault lines are, along with the realization that there have been more than 175,000 earthquakes above this magnitude (and many more weaker than this) in the last (almost) 40 years and how few reactors are actually near earthquake activity.
Anything with the word radiation or nuclear attached to it always becomes and eminent threat to public safety in the eyes of legislators and the media 🙁
I’ve always thought that congress should have a group of “resident experts” to serve as scientific BS detectors. What do you expect!? You have a room full of political science majors trying to make decisions based on REAL science.