Nuclear Power: Futures, Costs and Benefits

This book provides an analysis of the costs and benefits of nuclear power, its future prospects and the implications for future policy. It looks at the risks involved; the consequences both locally and elsewhere of an accident (the overall economic costs for nuclear plants of the accident at Three Mile Island are shown to have been at least equal to the costs at the plant involved) and the additional (and usually ignored) costs that should therefore be allowed for when considering the economic feasibility of new plant; the assessment of risk and its implications for safety measures; and different options given political and economic constraints for countries considering whether nuclear power stations should be built. In the mid-1970s, in the aftermath of the first oil price shock, nuclear power was widely expected to undergo rapid expansion in most industrialised and some developing countries. These expectations have not been realised, and the book shows how doubts about the costs and risks of nuclear power have grown, and how they should be taken into account when making decisions about future options for power generation.