As part of SOARCA, the NRC has run computer modeling and simulation tools to study at least two operating nuclear power plants in the U.S over the last couple of years.

One of the plants that participated in the initial phase of the NRCs SOARCA project is the Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station in Pennsylvania. The plant features a boiling water reactor (BWR) similar to the most troubled reactors in Japan. The other plant is the Surry Power Station, a pressurized water reactor (PWR) in Virginia.

The commission did not respond to requests for comment on the status of its SOARCA project.

Publicly available information on the project states that the project's goal is to develop an enhanced understanding of the consequences of a nuclear power plant accident involving the release of radioactive material into the environment. SOARCA will give the public and decision makers the "latest basis" for assessing the consequences of severe accidents at nuclear power plants, the information notes.

The study also is designed to examine the value and the extent to which existing defense-in-depth measures at nuclear power plants will mitigate potential fallout in an accident.