Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

Coal irradiates far more people than nuclear even when it's operating properly.



Yes. Perfectly working coal produces more radiation than perfectly working nuclear.

When coal has a major incident, though, it still produces the same pollutants as if it's working correctly.

When nuclear has incidents, like the plants of Brunsbüttel and Krümmel that frequently had leaks, you end up with the highest leukemia quote worldwide [1].

Krümmel had major issues, with nuclear fuel being found in the area around the reactor, outside, on the ground, with the power plant leaking coolant frequently, and more incidents. [1]

Mismanagement with Nuclear can lead to far more problems than mismanagement with coal.

More Info and Links: [1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leukämiecluster_Elbmarsch (Sadly, only German article available).

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kr%C3%BCmmel_Nuclear_Power_Pla...

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunsb%C3%BCttel_Nuclear_Power...


> When coal has a major incident, though, it still produces the same pollutants as if it's working correctly.

Yeah. No.

"Coal mining accidents resulted in 5,938 immediate deaths in 2005, and 4746 immediate deaths in 2006 in China alone according to the World Wildlife Fund"

So each year more deaths from coal accidents alone than the entire predicted, somewhat speculative and hard to ever prove death toll from Chernobyl over the next 20 or so years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_accidents#Fatalities


What he means to say is that a nuclear meltdown can fuck up a huge area for millenia, but a coal incident can't.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: