...by independent, non-corporate, scientific bodies. Unfortunately nuclear disasters half a world away can have a profound effect on the ecology and environment in places that do not even utilize nuclear generation. This is not a localized issue.

"In a damning report released in July, a parliament-appointed panel criticised years of "collusion" between Tepco, industry regulators and politicians, and described the disaster as "manmade"."

The real danger of nuclear power is that statement:

"collusion" between Tepco, industry regulators and politicians

They try to make it about the technology. And I used to as well. But we live in a world with a lot more going on than just technology and science. We have humans with profit motives and political agenda's. Neither of which have solutions that can make them play well with nuclear power.

This allows the nuclear industry to combat the perception that nuclear power is inherently risky, that there are potential problems that are unavoidable. Instead, they can now further reassure people that that nuclear power is safe as long as all safeguards are followed.

But as you point out, there is still the darn human variable, people with motives that supersede what they see as "insignificant" compromises on safety.

And even in a world with no such corruption, and even if the nuclear industry is correct that safeguards could prevent all possible problems, the fact remains that all that still depends on humans not making mistakes, which is not the surest bet.

People seem quick to believe that things can be done properly, and slower to believe that even despite best intentions, humans often screw up. That's true in all areas... the problem with nuclear power in particular is that the consequences of a human screwup are so enormous.

All that said... I still am ambivalent about my own position on it.

to be safe no Reactor should have been built in Japan, too many earthquakes, if a wall was built 40 foot tall it would have saves these Reactors, but whats to keep the next wave from being 20 meter high. You can't out guess mother nature. Reactors are unsafe anywhere.

You can't trust ANY industry ...

Since the cooling pipes were broken by the quake, long before the wave arrived, the tsunami only narrowed the range of possible recovery efforts.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/07/meltdown-what-really-happened-fukushima/39541/
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-explosive-truth-behind-fukushimas-meltdown-2338819.html

The design they used for their cooling process, according to an engineer I know, is absolutely ridiculous. We use better fail-safe designs in our food processing plants in this country.