End of nuclear power? It is only the beginning!

There was a report in TOI dated 21^st may 2017 indicating that solar power is replacing nuclear power world-wide. Apparently, it may look like that, since widest possible negative publicity is given in the media for nuclear-related incidents and accidents highlighting trivial risk to the population by these occurrences. The risks are only on paper and there are hardly any fatalities related directly to the nuclear incidents/accidents, in real time.

Countries are spending disproportionately large amount of money on safety systems because mathematically some deaths can be predicted that too after two or three decades of exposures to radiation. This makes nuclear power a little more expensive than other modes of electricity generation. But things are changing fast! It is being proved that there are no observable health effects which can be directly attributed to exposure to low level radiation dose.

India should go for indigenous standardized nuclear power plants. Buy uranium from friendly countries. Reprocess spent uranium fuel to get fissile plutonium, a better nuclear fuel than uranium. Separate Cs-137 radionuclide which is the major part of the nuclear waste. Use this Cs-137 as radiation source for industrial applications, such as food irradiation or blood irradiator. The radiation safety scenario is creditable.  

Nuclear power is far less polluting than burning coal or oil in thermal power plants.