Something you may or may not be aware of.
"Coal Ash Is More Radioactive than Nuclear Waste
The popular conception of nuclear power is straight out of The Simpsons: Springfield abounds with signs of radioactivity, from the strange glow surrounding Mr. Burn's nuclear power plant workers to Homer's low sperm count. Then there's the local superhero, Radioactive Man, who fires beams of "nuclear heat" from his eyes. Nuclear power, many people think, is inseparable from a volatile, invariably lime-green, mutant-making radioactivity.
Coal, meanwhile, is believed responsible for a host of more quotidian problems, such as mining accidents, acid rain and greenhouse gas emissions. But it isn't supposed to spawn three-eyed fish like Blinky.
Over the past few decades, however, a series of studies has called these stereotypes into question. Among the surprising conclusions: the waste produced by coal plants is actually more radioactive than that generated by their nuclear counterparts.
In fact, the fly ash emitted by a power plant—a by-product from burning coal for electricity—carries into the surrounding environment 100 times more radiation than a nuclear power plant producing the same amount of energy."
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-wasteA couple of points: 1) Though I've been critical of Scientific American for sensationalist headlines, the articles are generally impartial and accurate 2) Most coal plants filter fly ash from their stacks these days, but where does it go after that? What about the tons of radioactive waste from coal mines that ends up in West Virginia streams every year?
Below is a graph of radioactive decay from Chernobyl (blue line). Though it's true that fission products from that disaster will remain in the environment for millions of years, literally 99% of the radiation is gone in 2011.
This is not an attempt to minimize the (likely thousands) of deaths from Chernobyl and Fukushima, but to show nuclear is still far safer than coal per MW generated. I don't believe anyone changes anyone's mind by anger or insult, but if I try to bring accuracy to the debate I can hopefully clear up misconceptions about an important subject.