Re: Hmmm
"As for there only being a few deaths and injuries from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, well I think you might need to re-read your history books.
You've also selectively picked some incidents and ignored others. Statistics are only your friends if you use them honestly."
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I didn't mention Hiroshima and Nagasaki because they weren't nuclear power plants. They were weapons explosions. Surprise! A big expensive weapon can kill quite a few people.
Nuclear power plants, however, have never produced a nuclear explosion, and in fact cannot do so. The more modern the reactor design, the harder it is to get them to hurt someone. Chernobyl was a cheap primitive reactor design dating back to the early 1950s, with a lack of safety features that would not be tolerated in any moderately up to date reactor. The operators managed to achieve a total worst case failure, but even then the casualties were pretty insignificant compared to failures we've seen associated with other power technologies, such as hydroelectric power.
Trying to evaluate nuclear power safety based on Chernobyl is like trying to assess the safety of air travel based on the accident records of 1916 biplanes... it is irrelevant to current designs.
Statistics are your friend if you use them properly.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
