Relative Danger of Energy Sources
Nuclear Power
4. How many are expected to die from nuclear power accidents over the
next decade?
< 100 100 –
1,000 1,000
– 10,000 10,000 -
100,000 > 100,000
The chance of accident is greater than 0, and the chance of death in
event of accident is greater than 0. However, in five decades of
nuclear power outside the former Soviet Union, 11,000 reactor years,
there has been one major accident (Three Mile Island), and no deaths,
even though many reactors of early designs were used in early
regulatory systems. Three Mile Island
and lesser problems showed that reactor safety had
much room for improvement. Newer safety features include depending on
passive solutions (gravity or warm metals expanding) rather than active
ones (pumps and valves). There is more redundancy (having more than one
identical part in case one fails, or more than one way to solve a
problem in case one fails) and multiple barriers. Each
generation of nuclear power plants emphasizes safety improvements, as
in this
design or this.
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