Thomas Gelsthorpe reports that news thrive on scary scenarios more than statistics. The relentless stories of minor difficulties at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth are inflated into propaganda by activists - also inappropriately called environmentalists by some, and Luddites and crackpots by others - to convey the impression that nuclear energy is too dangerous for generating electricity. Only infrequent letters to the editor counter popular exaggerations with accurate, first-hand knowledge.
Impartial assessments today and over the years show that nuclear energy is the safest method for generating electricity, measured by death and injury per megawatt. Worldwide, only one plant accident in history has killed more than five people, Chernobyl in 1986, under a notoriously sloppy Soviet regime that no longer exists, with a type of unshielded reactor that nobody uses anymore.
The only American nuclear reactor accident that killed anyone was an experimental site in Idaho in 1961. Three deaths resulted from a steam explosion that can happen with many types of machinery. The most publicized nuclear incident in the U.S. was Three Mile Island's Unit 2 in 1979. It is commonly referred to as a disaster by activists and the media, but it killed no one. Unit 2 did not contaminate the surrounding area, was safely deactivated and there have been no measurable health effects to this day. Unit 1 on the same island was uninvolved and continues to generate 829 megawatts, about 20 percent more than Pilgrim. Like Pilgrim, Three Mile Island Unit 1 was thoroughly inspected by the NRC after 40 years operation, and relicensed for another 20 years. From a flyover of Three Mile Island, you can see the still-functioning unit next to the darkened one.
People who scare easily are afraid of electric generation from fuels that emit carbon dioxide. Nuclear power doesn't emit carbon dioxide; a fact some greens are viewing more favorably.
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