Is nuclear power safe?

Quote from Gotchaforce : But wait.. doesnt the free market dictate that coal plants in china would be sued into oblivion??

Quote from paperboy05 : If only China had a free market....

You'd have a point if you were right.

China is acting like a free market in regards to power generation, and free market power generation is clean only when natural gas or hydro is the cheapest energy source, and apparently coal is the cheapest source in China and much of the world. Can you show where the free market resulted in cleaner electricity generation than government regulation of pollution did? Similarly, show how the free market solved the slavery problem.

Even Adam Smith said the market doesn't handle everything right.

Quote from Xygonn : "How Deadly Is Your Kilowatt?" http://www.forbes.com/sites/james...ways-paid/

From the article:

"It is also notable that the Clean Air Act is one of the most life-saving pieces of legislation ever adopted by any country in history."

Forbes occasionally lets facts like that slip out and contradict its general right-wing/libertarian slant. Back in the 1980s it blamed the fall of the US nuclear power industry to the US nuclear power industry. At other times it said GDP was maximized when the federal budget was 20% of GDP and that union workers are more productive than non-union employees.

Quote from larrymoencurly : From the article: "It is also notable that the Clean Air Act is one of the most life-saving pieces of legislation ever adopted by any country in history." Forbes occasionally lets facts like that slip out and contradict its general right-wing/libertarian slant. Back in the 1980s it blamed the fall of the US nuclear power industry to the US nuclear power industry. At other times it said GDP was maximized when the federal budget was 20% of GDP and that union workers are more productive than non-union employees.

It's notable that I do not stand with the "sue companies that pollute" camp of libertarians. That's like saying we don't need criminal trials because the harmed parties will win in civil court.