US deploys two nuclear experts to Japan

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission said it has sent two experts to Japan,where authorities were seeking to calm fears of a reactor meltdown in the aftermath of a massive earthquake.

“We have some of the most expert people in this field in the world working for the NRC and we stand ready to assist in any way possible,” commission chairman Gregory Jaczko said in a statement announcing the deployment yesterday.

The NRC — an independent agency mandated by Congress to regulate US commercial nuclear power plants and other nuclear materials — said the pair were experts in boiling water nuclear reactors and are part of a broader US aid team sent to the disaster zone.