No one has died from civilian nuclear energy in the United States, unless one counts hysteria. In that case, thousands. Of course, it wasn't blamed on hysteria, but they're certainly dead because of it. The problem did not start with a movie, but The China Syndrome sure set the stage. It opened March 16, 1979, starring Jane Fonda and Jack Lemmon, who both received Oscar nominations for best actor. The plot was cookie-cutter evil corporation operating evil technology for evil profits. Jack Lemmon dies trying to prevent a meltdown, killed by SWAT tricked by management into thinking Lemmon was attempting to destroy the world rather than save it.
Twelve days after the movie release, reactor 2 of Three Mile Island experienced a partial meltdown that released radioactive materials. It appeared the nightmare portrayed in the movie as well as the enflamed vision sold by Greeners for years, had come to pass. In the end, the average radiation dose of those within ten miles was 8 millirems (one chest x-ray) with the maximum exposure being 100 millirems (1/3 average annual natural exposure). Long-term sampling from domestic and wild animals confirms these official estimates.
Hysteria ran a muck, basically halting the expansion of civilian nuclear power in the United States. Of the plants already approved, 51 were canceled and over 300 coal-fired power generating stations have been built since. Although filtering of stack gases has improved since 1979, the estimates at the time were 100 people suffered premature death per coal-fired station per year. Today, coal-fired power plants in the United States shorten 24,000 lives per year. Nuclear power: zero; coal: 24,000/year times 31 years approaches ¾ of a millions lives since Three Mile Island.
The lessons are simple:
Hysteria kills. Don't buy in. Disdain those who do. Get the facts.
Hollywood kills. Anyone who takes an actor's opinion for anything more important than how many cc's of silicon should go into a breast implant gives them publicity craved at the expense of real people, maybe even you and your family.
Finally, grasp the concept: Greeners kill. To fulfill their more grandiose concepts, they readily sacrifice the well being of you and your family, even unto death, and try to make you feel guilty. They sell hysteria, and hysteria kills.
