Nuclear Power: Proliferation and Public Health

Proliferation of nuclear weapons is the decisive issue which must be confronted in the subtle synergism between nuclear energy for electric power and the resulting generation of fissile explosive materials. Societal structures smaller than national states may be expected to achieve access to devastating nuclear devices with the growing numbers of nuclear reactors for power. Ethical and public health issues, though ultimately dominated by the proliferation question, also are incompletely resolved in matters of radioactive waste management, the transportation of spent reactor fuel, and the siting of nuclear power plants. (Author)