Following Japan's nuclear disaster last year there are fears the US may be heading for a nuclear catastrophe of its own.
Their owners want to keep them running, but others - from environmentalists to mainstream politicians - are deeply concerned.
The investigation focuses on the Pacific Gas & Electric nuclear facility at Diablo Canyon and two others, Vermont Yankee and Indian Point in New York.
These three sites represent the dangers posed to nuclear power plant safety by earthquakes, terrorism, mechanical breakdown and flooding.
Rubin and Fang discover that the NRC's oversight track record is far from perfect, and that unless urgent action is taken the US could be heading for a nuclear catastrophe of its own.