Several US lawmakers have expressed concern over the safety and security of nuclear power plants in the country in the aftermath of the damages caused to Japanese atomic plants by earthquake and tsunami.Democrat’s members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce wrote a letter to its chairman, Fred Upton, seeking a Congressional hearing on this issue. In the letter, they wrote the worsening nuclear crisis in Japan is raising serious questions in the minds of many Americans about the safety and preparedness of nuclear power plants in the United States. They noted the nuclear industry has downplayed the significance of the events in Japan. Congressman said the nuclear industry has also asserted that it is far better prepared to respond to a nuclear accident than the oil industry was in responding to the blowout of BP's Macondo well. Congressmen hoped the nuclear industry’s self-confidence is warranted, but the US should not accept the industry’s assurances without conducting its own independent evaluation of the risks posed by nuclear reactors in the US and the preparedness of industry and regulators to respond to those risks.