Letters/energy: calculating the risk

A discussion of H. Inhaber's analysis of risks with energy from conventional and nonconventional sources showed that the use of this data with the removal of the risks of creating an energy facility and the risk due to the conventional backup for a nonconventional plant had the effect of reversing Inhaber's conclusion, i.e., nonconventional systems are less risky than conventional systems. Although Inhaber relied heavily on data gathered by R. Caputo and co-workers, Inhaber's estimates of total health risk, compared with Caputo's were: 15 times greater for coal; 100 times greater for solar thermal electric and solar photovoltaic power; and about the same for a nuclear plant