Myths about nuclear energy.(Cover story)

First shift at Milwaukee's Falk Corp. began on the morning of December 6, 2006 just like it had for decades at the giant industrial complex. The company's skilled workers filed in, replacing the third-shift workers who were headed home for some well-earned rest after spending the night at the giant factory building gears for other industrial consumers. Without a hitch the first-shift crew picked up where third shift left off and were busily working when some began to notice signs that something was wrong. Just before 8:00 a.m. the smell of natural gas began to fill the air, and employees began to evacuate. Minutes later, at 8:07, the plant was torn apart by a colossal fireball in an explosion that rocked the city, blowing out windows blocks away. "It was like a bomb went off or a plane crashed," said 42-year veteran Falk machinist David Sternig, describing the blast that left three dead and 46 injured.

The terrible tragedy in Milwaukee underscored the incredible power stored in the fuels used to generate power to supply the energy needs of the modern, industrialized world. In a power plant, the energy catastrophically released all at once in an explosion of the type that devastated Falk Corp. is released gradually while under control. Tamed, it is used to heat water into steam, which in turn spins giant turbines that power electric generators. The benign and useful power that flows out of every electrical outlet in your house is the direct result of mankind's ability to harness the destructive energies contained in fuels like natural gas, petroleum, or coal. And it is no different with nuclear energy. Every fuel that stores the energy we tap in order to power the modern world has the potential to escape our control and violently destroy lives and property.

Nuclear, coal, gas: they all have the power to destroy. But of these three, one has gotten a bad rap. While it is business as usual for coal and gas, the widespread perception persists that nuclear energy is fraught with unique and terrifying danger. Say "nuclear" out loud, and people tend to think of mushroom clouds, radiation, and nuclear winter. Despite these fears, nuclear energy is clean, reliable, and safe--more so, in fact, than the alternatives, as an examination of the myths about nuclear energy reveals.

MYTH: Nuclear plants emit dangerous radiation.

TRUTH: Have you ever known anyone killed in a car accident? I have--two uncles, a roommate, and a girlfriend from college. How about anyone killed from radiation, or maybe even injured slightly? If you're like me and nearly all other Americans, you can't name a single person you know who has been injured by radiation.

The fact is, nuclear power plants emit less radiation during normal operation than do coal-fired power plants. In an article published in 1993 in Oak Ridge National Laboratory Review, ORNL physicist Alex Gabbard pointed out "that coal-fired power plants throughout the world are the major sources of ...