Those two events have one VERY large thing in common, which you may or may not agree is relevant but ---
They did not happen *here*. We have the most nuke plants in the world - around 100.
The worst accident we have had on our soil is Three Mile Island, which resulted in nothing released to the environment -
but did expose people inside the plant.
We have had nuclear power plants operating for 70 years without a Chernobyl or a Fukushima - and on the basis of just
how strictly, slowly and thoroughly they are examined, inspected and so forth - there's very little likelihood there will ever be one.
I worked at Harvard Radiation Safety during Chernobyl - that thing might as well have been put together with gum and glue.
You remember of course, the Soviets had no intention whatsoever of informing the rest of the world about it - until it was obvious.
I remember when the last of the big plants went online - Seabrook. That place you could have eaten off the floors.
They made certain of that - every liberal in Massachusetts was determined to find something wrong - and they couldn't.
That said - it's not the plants I worry about - it's disposing of the waste. And we *have* technologies out there to make
use of that would minimize the hazards - we just chose decades ago to follow technology we could use to weaponize the
by products of it. We don't need to do that.
I left radiation safety decades ago, so my expertise however meager might not be current - but I've been reading much
over the years about LFTR, which I believe is a good solution, although I don't possess the knowledge to compare all the
advantages and disadvantages. The upside to liquid flouride thorium reactors is, you pretty much CAN'T have an accident.
