More damaging revelations about the nuclear reactor used in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are coming to light. Components in the reactor have come under criticism since as far back the early 1970s. Developed by General Electric, the plant’s nuclear reactors use a containment vessel surrounding the reactors that are less robust than other models. The design is also used in 23 reactors at 16 American plants. Marketed as cheaper and easier to build, the Mark-I boiling water reactor drew criticism in 1972 from the Atomic Energy Commission, which said the equipment presented unacceptable safety risks and should be discontinued. In the mid-1980s, an official with the Nuclear Regulatory Committee said the Mark-I stood a 90 percent chance of bursting should the fuel rods overheat and melt in an accident.