Why nuclear power plants are not safe?

Answer 1

Obtaining large amounts of energy is never completely safe. Look at the risks to coal miners and workers in off shore oil and gas rigs, and oil refineries. Nuclear plants, well designed and built, and supervised by licensing organisations such as the NRC in the US, are in my opinion acceptably safe. Others disagree, but we have to have energy for our modern way of life, and we have to take some risks to get it.

There currently is only one country in the world that is refusing to beuild new plants within it's boarders for use by the public. That country is also the number one builder of these plants in other countries and for their military. The nuclear powered aircraft carriers that they build run on fuel sources about the size of a dime. One of the first power plants used by the United States in the Antarctic was a nuclear system that was very portable.

France spouts off about how they have reduced 90% of their CO2 emissions, which is true. They have done so by the construction of these wonderfully safe plants. The real issue is that people are afraid of what they do not understand. Rather then facing the reality of thousands dieing every year in coal accidents, we harp about the unknown possible dangers of nuclear. Water cooled reactors are very safe. So safe no deaths have been attributed to them- ever! Three mile Island shows just how safe they were. Even when man screws up, they refuse to blow. The Russian systems were far less safe, but changes are being made there.

The issue of waste is somewhat misguided also. We call so much of wat comes out of the plants waste. Did you know that they do not create any nuclear material? They use the material for heat, but do not create more material. We are only using what is already there. There are methods that have been suggested that would allow the disperment of this material with no additional background radiation. The extremists do not want the plants so they refuse to allow these processes to be developed.