This week was Nuclear Science Week; which, just as it sounds, has been about promoting nuclear science to Americans and dispelling the many myths around it.
If America truly wants to reduce its carbon emissions without tanking the economy by entirely replacing coal and natural gas with costly renewables, we need to get serious about nuclear energy. One of the largest roadblocks is Americans’ fear of nuclear energy. Only half believe it is safe.
Many people are scared of nuclear energy because of events like Three Mile Island, Fukushima, and most famously, Chernobyl. The death toll of these three accidents is smaller than the amount of Americans who die every year from smoking. The World Health Organization has said that the largest health outcome from the Chernobyl disaster is anxiety about nuclear energy.
The HBO series on the latter was a thrilling and terrifying watch, but it shouldn’t be used as a reason to not use nuclear energy. Beyond getting important facts about nuclear radiation wrong, we should remember the time and setting of the mini-series. As Rep. Matt Gaetz cleverly said at a Clean Energy Week conference, “I wouldn’t use a toothbrush made by the Soviets in the ‘80s.”
It’s not just Chernobyl; Americans have been inundated with anti-nuclear propaganda in the form of TV and movies for decades. Everyone who grew up during the Cold War knows the experience of hiding under your desks during “Duck and Cover” drills while wondering if your desk would actually protect you from an A-bomb. That fear, and the pop culture mentioned above, leaked into those of us raised after the fall of the USSR.
The fact is, nuclear is significantly safer than coal and oil. This is not a surprise to anyone who grew up in a coal town or knows someone who worked on a rig. What is a surprise is that nuclear is safer than solar. Solar energy isn’t particularly dangerous, most of the deaths come from installers falling off rooftops. The point is that nuclear is so safe, you’re more likely to die being a solar installer than working at a nuclear power plant.
Nuclear is safe. Coal is not. Oil is not. The choice is clear, and the power is in Americans’ hands.