Nuclear Trust - When a nuclear accident occurs...

[kristopher]

...When a nuclear incident occurs, the invisibility and unfamiliarity of radiation makes the general population extraordinarily reliant on the operators of nuclear facilities and their overseers for information critical to their very lives. Citizens' willingness to live with the risks posed by nuclear power is understandably linked to their confidence that the nuclear industry and its government regulators will be honest about safety risks and take adequate steps to protect them. If they believe that plant operators or the government will act to protect itself by not protecting or informing them, citizens lose faith in both the nuclear industry and the government.

Although there are some parallels to climate science, no other energy form is nearly so reliant on trust in a narrow cadre of engineers, scientists and regulators for its public acceptance. Had the Fukushima plants used any other prime mover (the technical term for energy forms used to generate power), there would have been no evacuation or ongoing safety fears, and the story would have faded from the world press in a day.

...I now realize that this accident will have a deeper and more lasting impact. Sadly, we live in an era of deteriorating trust for most of the institutions of civil society, including representative government. The debate over climate science has politicized this venerated institution to a degree never before seen in modern times. These long-term developments, combined with the specific allegations leveled at Tepco and the government of Japan, suggest that nuclear power has a much bigger hurdle to surmount than its specific license approvals. More than any other energy form, its fate is tied to our very confidence in government's ability to protect its citizens from harm, admit its own wrongdoing and criticize and control powerful corporate interests.

This is a tall order, and it does not bode well for the hoped-for nuclear revival. It does, however, suggest a path forward for civilian nuclear power. Governments can gain the trust they need to revive this sector by demonstrating the ability to provide transparency and accountability in the regulation of nuclear plants and the handling of nuclear accidents. In and of itself, this is a goal that will advance all of civil society and repair the public's trust in government. It could also be the key to preserving the future of this low-carbon resource.

From Nuclear Trust
by Peter Fox-Penner, PhD
Author of Smart Power. Principal and Chairman Emeritus of The Brattle Group.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-foxpenner-phd/nuclear-trust_b_863742.html

[SpoonFed]

1. Incompatible goals...

...admit its own wrongdoing and criticize and control powerful corporate interests.

Seems pretty incompatible with my ever growing understanding of what it takes to have a functioning nuke power industry.

[kristopher]

2. Factor in a culture of secrecy built on control of and access to nuclear technology

...and the solution offered seems not just unlikely but effectively impossible.