There is a Latin phrase used in law – cui bono – which translates as “as a benefit to whom.” This is a good question to raise in the debate over using nuclear energy to generate electrical power. Perhaps another Latin phrase would be useful such as “cui malum” or “as an injury to whom.”
Who benefits from nuclear power generation? Obviously the people who need electricity would be a quick response. But digging a bit deeper, it is obvious that there is a thriving industry supplying uranium fuel, reactors, waste handling, etc. to nuclear power plant. The companies who own the plants also benefit from the profits made selling electricity.
Digging deeper still, we find that there are many politicians who benefit from the money fed to their campaigns by the nuclear power industry. These paid for politicians work hard to insure that licenses will be granted for nuclear reactors, regulations will be minimal with poor inspection and enforcement, violations will be met with minimal or no punishment and taxpayers will pick up most of the tab for cleaning up after any accidents that may occur.
And, finally, governments who are interested in developing and maintaining arsenals of nuclear weapons find it convenient to spread the cost of nuclear weapons development to nuclear power generation and, sometimes, to hide the intent of nuclear weapons programs behind the claim that their nuclear facilities are only intended for the development of peaceful nuclear power.
Who is injured by nuclear power generation? The people who are exposed to radioactivity that may impact their health is an obvious answer. First in the chain are the indigenous peoples of remote areas of the world where uranium is being mined. They are often exposed to radiation without being educated in the dangers. They are left with a polluted toxic landscape.
The workers in the uranium refining and fuel production facilities are often poorly trained and work without proper equipment and safeguards. The people who manage the nuclear power plants also have the same problems with poor training, poor equipment and poor oversight. And, at the end of the fuel life cycle, the transport, storage and disposal of nuclear waste can expose the workers and the people in the area to radiation. Without proper long term disposal of waste, people in the future may be exposed to radiation.
If there is a major accident with release of radioactive materials, ocean and atmospheric currents can carry the radiation around the world, exposing people thousands of miles from the site of the accident to dangerous radiation. Billions of dollars will need to be spent on cleanup from a major accident and much of it will come from the taxpayers. Large areas may be rendered uninhabitable because of a major accident. In the future, the plants and animals may return and people may not know that a particular area is dangerous because of an ancient nuclear accident.
There are winners and losers in the use of nuclear energy to generate electricity. It would appear that the winners are primarily businesses, politicians and governments while the losers may include just about everyone else on earth in the present and in the future.
