Larry Bell appropriately opined in 2011 that much media coverage of the nuclear component of Japan earthquakes and tsunamis tragedy has lacked objectivity and proportionality, compounding already high public anxiety and confusion levels. Excessive attention has been directed to hypothetical radiation dangers relative to the enormous scale of broader havoc wrought by those incredible once-in-three-century natural disasters. Realistic risks have often been exaggerated by poorly informed reporters, along with alarmist agenda-driven commentators presented as experts. Is it sometimes worse to underplay potential hazards and consequences than to err on the side of caution? Perhaps. But unfounded, panic-evoking, worst-case conjectures are unwarranted and irresponsible.
Let us begin by contemplating early disaster consequences from a big picture context where 20,000 people may have already perished. Many hundreds of thousands more have been injured and displaced by colossal tidal forces that swept away homes and workplaces. But relative to these staggering losses, collateral impacts arising from damaged reactors will likely be very minor. Yes, minor, but certainly not inconsequential. No deaths but 11 were injured in hydrogen explosions at two reactor plants. A few others were hospitalized and released after contact with radioactive water in the partially flooded basement of a Fukushima Daiichi turbine power building. As many as 180,000 or more local residents have at least temporarily evacuated areas within a 12.5 mile precautionary zone around endangered nuclear complexes, with special concerns regarding infant safety.
More than a dozen near-by communities have reported tiny amounts of radiation contaminants in drinking water and on certain types of vegetables. Some elevated levels have been found in soil samples 25 miles northwest of the plant, although no plans were reported to expand the safety zone. Years later, these radiation levels are gone. Read on ..
The original URL: https://www.forbes.com/sites/larrybell/2011/04/12/media-hype-over-nuclear-energy-increases-anxiety-and-confusion/#319d7b6710f0
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