logoalt Hacker News

jqpabc123today at 8:18 PM1 replyview on HN

Reason there is not more of nuclear reactors is not the cost, it is regulation.

The reason for regulation is that failure is not an option --- unless you're willing to accept the cost of making a big chunk of a state uninhabitable for a very long time.

How much would failure cost? The Chernobyl exclusion zone is over 1000 square miles --- about half the size of Delaware. And it is expected to remain uninhabitable for the next 20,000 years.

Also, the Russian Academy of Sciences estimates that up to 1 million people may suffer premature death as a result of radiation exposure and contamination from the event.

In the long run, renewable energy is a lot cheaper.


Replies