And nuclear power generation also emits a very dangerous pollutant: nuclear waste.
Nuclear waste is stable, does not migrate when handled properly in containment pools, and can be reprocessed if required. All existing spent nuclear fuel in the united states is stored on-site. It's been that way since the beginning of the industry.
In contrast, particulate and greenhouse gas (including CO2) emissions from coal-fired plants migrate with the wind, often polluting areas far from the plant.
I don't see how you can compare the two.
It's true that spent fuel is very toxic but every single attempt to deal with this issue has been stymied with rampant NIMBYism and non-science based fear mongering.
You can control the operational risks associated with nuclear power. Doing so with fossil fueled plants is not nearly as easy.
That's the crux of the nuclear issue. Everything works great in the theoretical world where everything is handled properly, all factors are properly accounted for, and all tradeoffs were wisely made. That is simply not how the real world works, and Fukushima reminds us of that.
No matter how many failsafes you put in place, they will, at some point or another, be breached. The question is then "What happens when every failsafe fails, and is that risk acceptable compared to the alternatives?"
So long as it's stored in stable geologic formations, or controlled by stable human institutions. Where "stable" is a period of time longer than human history in many cases.
>does not migrate when handled properly in containment pools
Which are dependent on active management and security indefinitely. This is challenging as the service life of the plant where the pool is located and revenue is generated is less than indefinately.
> can be reprocessed if required.
Which is also a proliferation risk.
I am fighting an almost overpowering impulse to laugh and cry at the same time.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-new-mexico-nuclear-dump-...
No, you get kicked out of life when you get diagnosed with cancer.
Until we get a couple more of degrees globally and we'll see floods in many coastal cities. Not to mention destroying the stability of weather we had for ~12,000 years and allowed farming to thrive.
