Thursday, July 2, 2009

Nuclear Liability Act Rises from the Dead

Article

This has tickled my warped humour bone in my head. Years ago, the Nuclear Liability Act (NLA) was a very big thing, with a very big trial. Behind this was the simple fact that the nuclear operators could never get open-ended liability insurance for a nuclear accident, and so most of it would have to be covered by the government anyway. The gov't, in turn, did ding the operators for a few hundred million for insurance they had to buy. It was a case of very remote odds, and very high consequences.

Anyway, the 'anties' (yeah NORM!), were very big on wiping this implicit gov't coverage out by legal means. That would effective destroy all nuclear in the country and plunge us into one heck of cold, dark winter. Naturally, it couldn' happen, but it didn't stop them from trying.

They brought in some seismic stuff, and I countered it. It was a very long boring trial, and I don't remember any of it. After that trial, the air went out of Norm and his buddies, and I died a slow intellectual death. I existed only for intelligent opposition, and the CNSC also died. Naturally, the operators never believed in earthquakes (or a modern version of them), and I wasted away, only to be happy with retirement. (The operators still mindlessly go through the seismic provisions set 30 years ago).

That's why I was soooo happy to see that Norm was still alive! It reminded me of the happiest moments in my career.

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