http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/science/29threat.html?pagewanted=3&_r=1&sq=U.S. emergency preparedness for nuclear reactor&st=cse&scp=6
At U.S. Nuclear Sites, Preparing for the Unlikely
(Page 3 of 3) ----- American reactors may be better protected than those at the Japanese plant were, because of precautions taken after Sept. 11 for a terrorist or military attack, according to industry and government officials and academic experts. American nuclear plant operators are required to havediesel fuel and pumps on site or readily available nearby to provide backup power and cooling capacity.Right after the Fukushima crisis they were ordered to check that they had the required equipment on hand and in working order.
The Japanese government rejected the offer the Government of the United States
(U.S.) who wants to provide technical assistance to cool the nuclear reactor fuel rods, which is damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. Quoted from the statement of a senior official in the Democratic Party of Japan who is unnamed in the daily Yomiuri Shimbun, The U.S. government immediately offered assistance so the natural disaster damage to the unit No. 1 at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. According to these officials, aid from the U.S. Government is based on the dismantling of troubled reactors operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco). The Japanese government and Tepco thinking reactor coolant system problems can they solve their own. They refused offers of help because they think it is too early to receive this assistance. Several parties in the government and officials argued that Japan can avoid what is currently happening if the government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan accepts the offer. On Thursday, March 17, the Japanese military in trucks and helicopters to pour tons of water to a nuclear power plant to lower the temperature of reactor fuel rods and prevent the spread of radiation. An earthquake with strength of 9.0 on the Richter scale that hit Japan is the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japanese history. The quake shook the eastern coast of Tohoku region, the northern capital. The earthquake that occurred on Friday, March 11 led to 15 thousand people was killed and still missing.