Nuclear Lobby Tells that Plants Can Withstand Japan-Like Crisis

Nuclear-power executives and lobbyists met with lawmakers in Washington this week as the industry sought to allay concern that the reactor crisis in Japan could be repeated in the U.S.

Representatives of the Nuclear Energy Institute, a Washington-based trade group, and Exelon Corp. (EXC), the biggest U.S. operator of nuclear reactors, briefed lawmakers and their staffs. Their message was that U.S. plants can withstand disasters such as the earthquake and tsunami that crippled nuclear reactors in Japan and raised the threat of a catastrophic radiation leak