Federal inspections at U.S. nuclear reactors being conducted in the aftermath of the Japanese nuclear crisis are finding deficiencies and gaps in compliance, the top federal nuclear regulator said last week.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspectors are reviewing how well 104 U.S. reactors can handle power losses and damage in the wake of the disasters following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that severely damaged the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

NRC wants to ensure plant operators can cool down reactor cores and spent fuel pools if there are large fires, explosions or other catastrophes similar to those that rocked the Fukushima plant.

Eric Leeds, director of NRC's Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation, said in a statement Friday that all U.S. reactors can be kept safe even if their safety systems were affected by external events. But he also noted "a few plants have to do a better job maintaining the necessary resources and procedures."

Scott Burnell, an NRC spokesman, said the agency is compiling a chart on how the plants performed and that all problems identified had already been fixed or would be fixed in the future.

Inspectors found equipment at some plants was improperly placed or tested to deal with fires or explosions and called for stepped up reviews at other facilities to ensure the plants would withstand multiple events.

A review of Entergy Corp.'s Indian Point nuclear plant near New York City found the site response to a fire following a seismic event could present "potential vulnerabilities," inspectors wrote in a May 13 report.

The fire protection systems in some areas of the plant are installed in non-safety-related buildings, comprising buried or underground equipment, the report says. Pipes bringing city water to the plant's fuel storage building are not designed to withstand an earthquake and would result in portions of the fire protection system being lost in a quake, the report says.

Inspectors found that operators at pressurized water reactors do not implement actions to cope with the loss of power in conjunction with a seismic event and that an extreme earthquake could increase pressure in the plant's containment system from a loss of coolant and exacerbate further damage.

Jerry Nappi, a spokesman for Entergy, said the plant is designed to handle a magnitude-6.1 earthquake but can handle an earthquake greater than 7.0 on the Richter scale and said that includes the ability of safety-related equipment to function such as emergency diesel generator. Nappi said the plant is not susceptible to the events that occurred in Japan but noted Entergy officials have always planned as though the plant is susceptible. The spokesman also said Entergy has the ability to relieve pressure within the containment vessel at the Indian Point plant during an emergency.

NRC inspectors at the Tennessee Valley Authority's Browns Ferry nuclear plant in northern Alabama found the operator did not verify that the plant could handle a complete loss of power, according to a May 13 inspection report.

There are also concerns over how safety-related emergency diesel generators at the TVA plant would operate with other equipment, including heat-removing pumps, the report says.

TVA spokesman Ray Golden said today that additional visual inspections have been conducted to satisfy NRC and that issues surrounding the diesel generators have been incorporated into TVA's corrective action program and will be addressed.