Quake/Tsunami

[Spexxvet]

I heard an interesting interview on NPR yesterday. The guy said that the deaths from mining and processing coal, and from the pollution caused by burning it are worse than atomic power, even considering this catastrophe, 3 Mile Island, and Chernobyl.

[tw]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

I heard an interesting interview on NPR yesterday. The guy said that the deaths from mining and processing coal, and from the pollution caused by burning it are worse than atomic power, even considering this catastrophe, 3 Mile Island, and Chernobyl.

The comparison ignores a fundamentally important fact. Nuclear deaths (and there have been more from other nuclear plants) are not due to the plant or energy production. In each nuclear plant failure, deaths were directly traceable to humans.

In those other cases, death was traceable to the actual process of making energy. When energy was created normally.

Some plants are less forgiving. Other plants let humans make more mistakes. 3 Mile Island is a classic example. Had human not intervened multiple times, then 3 Mile Island would not have happened. Multiple human mistakes (refusing to fix defective valves to cut costs; repeatedly turning off or disabling safety functions, etc) created that meltdown.

[Spexxvet]

Originally Posted by tw

Some plants are less forgiving. Other plants let humans make more mistakes. The Venus Fly Trap is a classic example. Had human not intervened multiple times, then The Venus Fly Trap would not have happened. Multiple human mistakes (refusing to fix defective valves to cut costs; repeatedly turning off or disabling safety functions, etc) created that meltdown.

FTFY