Gary,
The safety of nuclear, including mining, is superior to any alternative that I’m aware of (except perhaps hydropower). For example, coal burning releases more radioactivity than the uranium cycle. Nuke plant safety technology is solidly proven – the worst case accident for an American reactor was Three Mile Island – it was a core meltdown. And guess what – nobody was injured.
There is an unreasonable fear of radiation, enhanced by the nuclear safety industry’s unscientific use of the precautionary principle – the Linear Dose Response No Threshold model of radiation hazard. Recent studies, and lots of evidence gather since Chernobyl (which was the worst possible nuclear plant disaster for any technology) has shown the fears to be VASTLY overblown. Toxicologists no longer accept that theory, but all the radiation safety/danger information and standards are still based on it.
See Nuclear Facts for a summary and useful linkes.
