ABSTRACT
This chapter provides starkly comparative analyses of the beliefs and decisions of a worldwide diversity of agents that expound directly opposed views, each of which should, in all cases, be supported by virtually identical and scientifically generated data, and by admission of similarly understood economic realities. It considers the provenance and published analyses of the World Nuclear Association, an organisation with a substantial and professional on-line presence and a reputation for the reliability and currency of its publicly offered data. America's Office of Nuclear Energy (ONE) provides, unsurprisingly, a more nuanced vision of the place of nuclear energy in a low carbon world, while also fulfilling its mission as a specialised government agency. The work of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) is a prime example of the close and evolving capacity of national nuclear safety bureaucracies to mediate and oversee the operational safety of nuclear generation industries within their social, political and environmental contexts.
