I very much understand how radiation causes disease and why something like inhaling radioactive particles is worse than just standing in front of low level emissions. I still contend that the danger is vastly overstated or at least very poorly documented. Most of the evidence of disease around Chernobyl and Fukushima is very poor. I'm not saying it's benign. I'm saying compared with all the other poisons we're exposed to, it barely raises the likelihood of disease. I think if proper precautions were taken, living around either meltdown would be almost undetectable in disease probability and outcomes.
Also the fact that coal power plants exhaust radioactive material that's in the coal as a part of normal operation.
SAY THE LINE BART! SAY THE LINE!
"Radioactive waste is overrated"
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!
I'm not talking about radionuclides from a meltdown. I'm talking about waste materials contaminated with radionuclides or raw radioactive waste material that is improperly stored, handled or secured getting out into the open by accident or theft. We don't need low-IQ monkeys letting radioactive materials escape and get spread in the world or worse used in a deliberate contamination event. One need only research incidents like the Goiania Incident to see what can go wrong if the waste and radioactive source materials are not kept securely in check. You fear a Times Beach level incident (dioxin used on dirt roads to reduce dust) more than Goiania but they are equally bad incidents. We can't be blind to one hazard because we fear another one more.
You and I are like two rats swimming around in port-a-potty "juice". You're saying we should scare the next guy off before he starts to take a shit. I'm saying we should wait and scare him off while he's taking a shit, so we can laugh as he runs out with his pants down. Whether they build a new reactor or not we're still being consumed by shit that will take our lives. Let's at least have a little fun.
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