Myth-busting

Sigh. Sometimes I really get sick of talking about my work. Don't get me wrong, I find being the editor of a magazine about nuclear power generation really interesting. It's just that some people seem to equate it with selling my soul to the devil. There is a lot of ignorance about nuclear power and most people are happy to stay ignorant, which I find a bizarre trait.
Don't worry, I'm not going to try and convince you of anything; I don't promote nuclear energy, just rational discussion based on facts. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but ignorance is just stupid. As is scaremongering. The technology is not perfect, however I'm more worried about the devastating effects of climate change in the coming few years if energy hungry countries don't use it. If you apply your objections to nuclear power to other energy technologies the results may surprise you. See if you can make it to point 3 below...I bet you'll be shocked. And maybe start wondering about where YOU live.

1.
A preliminary report has found no observable health effects from last year's nuclear accident in Fukushima...Presenting to the UN General Assembly, UNSCEAR's chair Wolfgang Weiss said that preliminary findings were that no radiation health effects had been observed in Japan among the public, workers or children in the area of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. This is in line with studies already published by the World Health Organisation and Tokyo University that showed people near the damaged power plant received such low doses of radiation that no discernible health effect could be expected.

Source: World Nuclear News (WNA)

2.

Figure above: "Nuclear energy is among those energy sources producing very low levels of carbon dioxide emissions from their full life cycle. It is closely comparable with renewables such as wind, solar and hydro in this respect."
Source: World Nuclear Association

3.
"...the waste produced by coal plants is actually more radioactive than that generated by their nuclear counterparts. In fact, the fly ash emitted by a power plant—a by-product from burning coal for electricity—carries into the surrounding environment 100 times more radiation than a nuclear power plant producing the same amount of energy...
As a general clarification, ounce for ounce, coal ash released from a power plant delivers more radiation than nuclear waste shielded via water or dry cask storage."
Source: Scientific American

Truth can be stranger...and more eye-opening...that the fictions many people willingly believe.