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Argument: Nuclear energy has an exceptionally good safety record

Issue Report: Nuclear energy

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John McCarthy. “Nuclear Energy is the Most Certain Source.” Formal.standard: “[Opposition argument:] Nuclear reactors are likely to have accidents with severe consequences for humanity. [Answer]: Chernobyl was the worst. There are now many hundreds of reactor years of experience, and Chernobyl was the only accident that injured the public. That’s a good record for a source of energy.”

Nuclear Power Now .org: “Nuclear power plants have experienced an admirable safety record. About 20% of electricity generated in the U.S. comes from nuclear power, and in the last forty years of this production, not one single fatality has occurred as a result of the operation of a civilian nuclear power plant in the United States. In comparison, many people die in coal mining accidents every year and approximately ten thousand Americans die every year from pollution related to coal burning.”