The short answer: Way more people than ought to be. On the home page, I talk to several nuclear experts and attempt an English-language introduction to the basics of nuclear power. They make it clear that the media has wildly amplified the threat posed by the Fukushima reactors, and produced a distorted understanding of past nuclear events like Three Mile Island. And that has consequences. Already, support for nuclear power in the U.S. is falling, in the worst possible moment for energy restriction. Dispelling myths about nuclear power is paramount:.

First, shutting down the production of new nuclear facilities would mean more reliance on old nuclear facilities, which are less safe. Second, shutting down or phasing out all nuclear facilities would necessitate greater reliance on other energy technologies that have their own dangers. As Professor Brown says, in a refrain common to all the nuclear experts, “Think of the BP explosion. Or Exxon Valdez. Those were pretty hellacious. And every month there’s a coal-mine disaster, and you read about pipelines exploding.” He recommends acknowledging that we are in “a pragmatic space. That doesn’t mean you don’t think every life is valuable. But you’re balancing risks, and acknowledging their reality in the real world we live in.”…
… in the 20th century, hydroelectric dams’ bursting, coal-mining disasters, and oil explosions have killed tens of thousands. And that includes just direct deaths from accidents, not indirect deaths from displacement, health problems caused by particulate matter, etc. Statistically speaking, nuclear experts claim, uranium fission is the safest major energy source in the world.

I’m not a nuclear expert, but some of our commenters evidently are. Please join the illuminating conversation.