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Later The Fukushima Daiichi disaster raised fresh concerns about
the safety of America’s nuclear power plants and the wisdom of
building new nuclear power plants in the United States. One year
after the deadly earthquake and tsunami that spawned the
meltdowns at Fukushima, new information continues to emerge
about the events that took place at Fukushima and the
implications for the people of Japan and the future of nuclear
power. This issue brief provides an update on the situation at
Fukushima on the first anniversary of the disaster. What
happened at Fukushima Daiichi? On March 11, 2011, an earthquake
measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck off the eastern coast
of Japan. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which
consists of six nuclear reactors, was shaken, but it is unclear
whether it was damaged by the earthquake. However, the ensuing
tsunami – which was far larger than the plant was built to
withstand, despite scientific warnings