Eric Epstein, chairman of Three Mile Island Alert, doesn't have enough math talent to read a simple chart. Nuclear power is the safest source of electricity there is.

Energy Source Death Rate (deaths per TWh) CORRECTED

Coal (elect, heat,cook –world avg) 100 (26% of world energy, 50% of electricity)

Coal electricity – world avg 60 (26% of world energy, 50% of electricity)

Coal (elect,heat,cook)– China 170

Coal electricity- China 90

Coal – USA 15

Oil 36 (36% of world energy)

Natural Gas 4 (21% of world energy)

Biofuel/Biomass 12

Peat 12

Solar (rooftop) 0.44 (0.2% of world energy for all solar)

Wind 0.15 (1.6% of world energy)

Hydro 0.10 (europe death rate, 2.2% of world energy)

Hydro - world including Banqiao) 1.4 (about 2500 TWh/yr and 171,000 Banqiao dead)

Nuclear 0.04 (5.9% of world energy)

source: http://nextbigfuture.com/20...

Nice posts AM! Nuclear energy production is essentially hamstrung by a few interrelated issues. First there is the public's paranoia. They see NPPs as potential Hiroshima explosions because that's how basic science was expressed to them as children. They then elect politicians (2nd issue) who pander to their paranoia by expressing concern for nonexistent problems. Weapons are not made from Uranium. Even if terrorists were handed the Uranium, they couldn't do what the public fears.

The public don't understand it because it's not explained in simplistic terms like internal combustion engines. The average person could not grasp high school Calculus. The mathematics in Nuclear Science is daunting by comparison. The associated physics is not expressed in traditional Newtonian Mechanics which certainly compounds the difficulty.
If everyone could grasp it, everyone (countries) would have both the NPPs and the weapons. This includes every rogue/terrorist state the world over. Uranium is not all that hard to come by assuming one knows what to look for. Knowing how to initiate the reaction cascade then control it to suit one's purpose is where the talent lies.

Avoid closure of nuclear power plants by eliminating costly unnecessary safety measures. The coal industry pushes the nuclear "safety" issue to drive up the cost of nuclear power. Truth: Coal kills 3 million people every year and nuclear has killed zero in the US.

Example: Quit requiring that nuclear power plants [NPPs] be guarded by soldiers. There is no need for guards at a nuclear power plant because the reactor guards itself. There is no way a terrorist could steal reactor fuel from a reactor.

Stealing fuel from a reactor: So let me get this right: You want your terrorist to go inside the containment building and rob fuel from the reactor vessel? Your terrorist would die of radiation in 4 seconds. [So stay outside of the containment building.]

Your terrorist can't get anywhere near the reactor vessel anyway. The containment building walls, ceiling and floor of American containment buildings are a minimum of 1 meter [about 39 inches] thick concrete and HEAVILY reinforced with steel. There is so much steel reinforcing rod that when you look at one under construction, you wonder where there will be any room for concrete. The containment vessel has a ½ inch thick steel liner. The door is likewise impenetrable. A bank vault would be much easier to break into.

Generation 2 reactors: The reactor vessel itself is 5 inches thick stainless steel. In operation, it is very hot and pressurized. Your terrorist would be instantly killed by steam if he opened the reactor vessel.

Generation 4 sodium cooled reactor: You want your terrorist to dive into a pool of molten metal and swim down to the core. Is that right?

Only robots enter the containment building. Robots must wait for the reactor to be put into cold shutdown. That takes a week. Would a bank robbery take a week?