Is nuclear energy a safe source of energy?

Answer 1

Yes. Nuclear energy is still safe. Its a matter of perspective. I'm not trying to diminish the severity of Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and now Fukushima Daiichi, but the truth of the matter is that, against the dilution effects of the atmosphere and ocean, they were relatively small incidents in the global scale.

Certainly, we need to spend time understanding what happened in each of these incidents so as to engineer better safeguards against these type of things recurring in the future, but the fact of the matter is that nuclear energy is safer and greener than fossil energy when you take everything into account.

The real problem with nuclear energy right now is one of perception. The risks are being blown out of proportion due to misunderstanding and (in some cases) misdirection by those that would misquote the facts.

The issue is that nuclear power is the only viable source of power that we have for the near and mid term that can rescue us from the larger consequences of fossil power. The wonderful alternatives, such as wind, geothermal, and solar are just not ready for mainstream operation yet, and neither is fusion power. It has to be fission, and it will probably be that way for 50 or 100 years.

Nuclear energy is said to be dangerous, but it causes deaths only a fraction against fossil fuel and the petrochemical industry. Coal power, for instance, kills as many people as the Chernobyl disaster every few weeks.

Every day we read about gas explosions, car fires, and many other accidents in which fossil fuels were at least contributors. We hardly notice the deaths from cancer and lung disease caused by pollutants from burning fossil fuels.

Every energy source has built in dangers. Wind farms decimate migratory bird populations and kill maintenance workers in accidents. More Americans have been killed in wind turbine (53) accidents than nuclear power accidents (3). Corn ethanol drives up food prices around the world and consumes enormous amounts of water, and the production of solar cells also produces toxic waste and endangers workers installing them on roofs. There's no such thing as safe energy, but only relatively safe energy. And nuclear energy is relatively safe.