ABSTRACT
The anti-nuclear movement would have little chance of carrying the public if the truth were admitted. They have instead invented a kind of imaginary radioactivity, which has been used to delay the construction of reactors, with the inevitable consequence of driving up capital costs, and so of increasing the eventual cost of electricity to the public. The anti-nuclear movement is now campaigning for the publication of what is called an incident count. This is to be a device for pretending that an accident has occurred when an accident has not occurred. An ‘incident’ is an occasion on which a safety feature has been brought into operation, as for instance a motorist might avoid trouble on the road by pressing die footbrake of a car. Engineers and scientists conversant with the nuclear industry are agreed that the most serious aspect of the technical situation was the failure to expect the formation of the hydrogen bubble.
