Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima If you can GUARANTEE that nothing even APPROACHING those could EVER happen under ANY circumstances Then I will fold to Nuclear Power
Three Mile Island
NO ONE DIED
Fukushima
NO ONE DIED
Chernobyl
essentially a human-made accident through gross mismanagement and neglect, that physically can’t happen with other reactor types (in part because they all have containment buildings now). so yes we can guarantee that nothing even approaching chernobyl will ever happen with modern reactors.
even so chernobyl still killed fewer people than the German Atomausstieg has through increased air pollution because of additional coal being burnt
welcome to team uranium!
Love people using 3 mile island as an example. 3 mile island is an example of where things WORKED, that the failsafes kicked in so only a miniscule amount of radiation was released, which not only didnt kill anyone, but no one was injured, no adverse health effects were caused, and there was no damage to the surrounding environment. Despite the incident, the other reactor continued to run until 2019!
And again: the point isn’t “do you prefer renewables or nuclear”. The point is “everyone fighting againsy nuclear power has further entrenched coal and oil power and caused a LOT more damage to the environment”
I did the napkin math a while ago, and a GRAM of uranium can power an average American home for a YEAR. And after you’re done all of the waste products are in one place and not vaporized into the air.
And don’t forget that modern reactors usually don’t run on uranium! Thorium reactors are way more safe, way more efficient, and Thorium can’t even be used as a weapon!
Obviously fully renewable energy like wind, solar, and hydroelectric is the best, but nuclear power is a fantastic stepping stone on the road to it!
I would just like to clarify there are currently no commercial thorium reactors (though one in China is planning to go fully online in 2030 iirc) and that thorium can in fact be used to breed both U-232 and U-233 depending on how it’s irradiated.
