A Case For Nuclear Power in Australia | BTalk

(Episode 480; 17 minutes 41) Australia doesn't generate any nuclear power. In the US 20% of the country's power is nuclear-generated. So here we are, a geographically huge nation, rich in uranium, that's busy finding other ways of generating sustainable power.

So why have we ignored the opportunity? Is it an emotive response, with a fear of disaster or terrorist activity, or is it because we just want to protect our coal industry?

In today's BTalk I ask Brian Wirth, Associate Professor at the Nuclear Engineering Department at the University of California, Berkeley, to counter the common fears of nuclear power; an accident, waste disposal and terrorist activity.

Nuclear power stations are expensive to build of course, but in the long term they could pay-off. Right now, consumers and businesses are being faced with increasing power bills. Could nuclear be part of the long term answer here?