Letter: Fears in the nuclear
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Maybe Hamish McRae should stop to consider the possibility that the safety of nuclear plants he so enthuses over is precisely because of the fears of protesters like those "woolly jumpered environmentalists".
Mr McRae says that the Magnox reactor is intrinsically safe because it is designed to overheat very slowly. So, protests about its dangers are irrational. But how did this particular design come to be adopted? Surely, public concerns about safety had something to do with it.
Public protesters such as Greenpeace may not always get it "right", but then, private managers are no different. Protest creates a culture that helps shape decisions taken behind closed doors. This democratic process may not produce perfect results. If so, we should be thinking of how to improve it, not dump on those who participate.
Yours sincerely,
Sujatha Raman
Collingwood College
Durham University
Durham
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments