Sen. Dick Durbin says he wants answers from nuclear experts about the safety of some of Illinois' aging nuclear plants in the wake of the crisis in Japan.
The Democrat says he and fellow U.S. senator, Republican Mark Kirk, will host a forum in Chicago on Friday that will include the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.
Durbin told The McDonough County Voice that he and Kirk have a "laundry list" of questions, including about the ability of Illinois' plants to withstand an earthquake and the storage of spent nuclear fuel rods at the shuttered Zion Generating Station.
Exelon Corp. officials also will participate in the forum. The company operates all of Illinois' 11 nuclear reactors and says they're safe.
