Note on the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant: be calm

There is a lot of worry in the media and the public in general over the consequences of the potential meltdown of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. The problem is that no one knows what the consequences are because no one really knows what is happening and they absolutely do not know what is going to happen. On CNN this morning there was even confusion on the level of immediate health risk to the engineers trying to fix the problem. Governments are unlikely to make good policy decisions with such a lack of data so I urge policy makers to wait and see what happens. There may be lessons to learn from this incident but guessing what the lessons are before hand is counterproductive.

As if to underline my point, various governments are giving contradictory advice on how far people should stay from the plant. The Japanese are evacuating within 20km, the Americans are evacuating within 50km, Canadians are evacuating within 80km, and the Australians are leaving the country completely. The reality is that none of these governments actually know what the safe distance is; it all depends on too many incalculable factors. If it is too early to definitely say how far back you should stand, it is much to early to get into a real discussion about nuclear safety.

Governments all over the world have begun a process of reviewing their own nuclear safety regulations and conditions. This is a good thing. All government policies should be reviewed on a regular basis. I sincerely hope that these reviews will be sober reflections rather than a panicked response to a danger that may be exaggerated.