Writing July 19 in the New York Times, columnist Bob Herbert details the country's unreadiness to deal with a nuclear accident on the scale of the Gulf oil disaster - or worse. He writes:
"Americans are not particularly good at learning even the most painful lessons. Denial is our default mode. But at the very least this tragedy in the gulf should push us to look much harder at the systems we need to prevent a catastrophic accident at a nuclear power plant, and for responding to such an event if it occurred.
"Right now, we’re not ready."
The column goes on to warn against a rush to nuclear expansion especially given the horrific consequences of a major nuclear accident.
"With nuclear plants, the worst-case scenarios are too horrible for most people to want to imagine. Denial takes over with policy makers and the public alike. Something approaching a worst-case accident at a nuclear plant, especially one in a highly populated area, would make the Deepwater Horizon disaster look like a walk in the park."