From the outset, safety of nuclear reactors has been a very high priority in their design and engineering. About one third of the cost of a typical reactor is due to safety systems and structures. The Chernobyl accident in 1986 was a reminder of the importance of this, whereas the Three Mile Island accident in 1979 showed that safety systems work. At Three Mile Island with a similarly serious malfunction the effects were contained and no-one suffered any harm or injury. Link to introductory factsheet on safety of power generation Link to information paper on safety Link to information paper on Chernobyl Link to information paper on advanced reactors Economics .
Nuclear reactors are expensive to build but relatively cheap to operate.
Their economic competitiveness thus depends on keeping construction to schedule so that capital costs do not blow out, and then operating them at reasonably high capacity over many years. By way of contrast, gas-fired power plants are very cheap and quick to build, but relatively very expensive to operate due to the cost of their fuel. With rising gas prices, and due to the high cost of moving coal long distances, nuclear plants are generally competitive with both gas and coal in most parts of the world, and becoming more so. Link to information paper on economics Waste Management. Handling and storing them safely is quite straightforward, they simply need to be shielded from human exposure, and cooled.