ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the coevolution of modern risk analysis and nuclear power. The chapter summarizes the benefits and deficiencies in the application of risk analysis to three major accidents in commercial reactors: Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima. It then discusses classes of risk unique to the nuclear industry: design risk, technological risk and safe operation, security risk, environmental risk, financial risk, and waste disposal risk. The relationship between commercial reactors and climate change is addressed using systems theory to consider the externalities associated with the entire nuclear fuel cycle rather than a sole focus on the reactor operation. In light of the number and magnitude of potential risks, it is argued that there is not a strong case for proposals to adopt atomic energy as a bridge to a sustainable energy future.
