Source: http://www.icold-cigb.org/article/GB/world_register/general_...
Given that, anybody want to bet on the safety of nuclear reactors?
Meanwhile countless tones of toxic waster from said reactors are also transported through regular highways and roads en route to disposal and/or are dumped in the sea by governments and "cheapest offer" subcontractors (including the mafia [3]).
[1] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/ministers-admit-nuclear-wa...
[2] https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304773104579268...
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toxic_waste_dumping_by_the_'Nd...
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coal-ash-is-more-...
Until sufficient solar and wind power generation comes online, I would rather we use nuclear and gas-fired power plants, and in that order. I think that on the balance nuclear power is cleaner. The sooner we get off fossil fuels, the better.
> Six [of the 16] incidents involved staff members breaching operational guidelines, and four were caused by a lack of internal communication. More worryingly, six were caused by staff members "pressing the wrong buttons."
which shows a lack of training. Another incident, described by the SCMP, tells how a critical alarm system was accidentally turned off 3 months before anyone noticed [2]
>An alarm system monitoring the radiation of reactor coolant at a nuclear power plant in Shenzhen was accidentally shut down for three months before the mistake was discovered, although a safety committee insisted the incident did not constitute a safety breach.
An official on the "Nuclear Power Station Nuclear Safety Consultative Committee" downplayed the incident saying "There was no harm done.", adding "there is always room for improvement for such a large operation."
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[1] China Nuclear Power Plant Incidents Highlight 'Systemic' Safety Concerns http://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/concerns-0109201712105...
[2] ‘No harm done’: alarm at Daya Bay nuclear plant accidentally deactivated for three months http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/articl...
I'm sure in one of the classic UI books (maybe Psychology of Everyday Things by Norman) there's a photo from a nuclear power plant, where there's two giant levers right next to each other, and the plant workers have attached a handle from a beer pump to one of them to distinguish it from the other, because as built they were identical and they kept pulling the wrong one.
edit: found a page referencing it, but the actual image has gone:
http://bactra.org/reviews/everyday-things/nukewiser.html
You can see it here:
https://issuu.com/design.nerve/docs/the_design_of_everyday_t...
Page 95 as the book is numbered, but page 111 in the web interface control.
I'd be money once this settles down, people will find and engineer report about this dam where someone recommends spending 100k on some detailed testing and some drilled cement injection to sure up the spill way. And then a week later they will find the minutes from the meeting were the administrators said the risk wasn't there so don't worry. Saved some money.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dam_failure#List_of_major_dam_...
Since 19th century US has the most (well, at least a lot) dam failures.
Is it because there are so many? Are they privately owned and the owners just count on declaring bankruptcy if it fails? Is it the engineering, the geology, the maintenance?
EDIT: Even such a major project like Hoover Dam was not done properly (it seems grouting curtains were not often used elsewhere) http://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/hoover_dam/Grout%20Curtain%20Fa...