Re:First new US nuclear reactor in decades enters commercial...
by pfdietz on Monday July 31, 2023 @08:57PM
(#36951004)
It also ignores the statistical value of lives. From a policy point of view, a life saved is worth about $9 M in the US. The putative lives saved by nuclear (vs. renewables) cost much more than this. If one accepts that this was worthwhile, it also implies the NRC is not regulating nuclear sufficiently, since additional improvements (like filter containment venting systems) would pay off in expected lives saved.
This is a common claim but it abuses statistics. By looking only at the one metric (deaths) it ignores the enormous enterprise required to keep nuclear as safe as it has been. No other power source needs anything like it.