Price–Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act...their get out of jail free card!

[Fledermaus]

The Price-Anderson Act has been criticized by various think tanks and environmental organizations, including Union of Concerned Scientists, Greenpeace International, Public Citizen and the Cato Institute. Public Citizen has been particularly critical of Price-Anderson; it claims that the Act understates the risks inherent in atomic power, does not require reactors to carry adequate insurance, and would therefore result in taxpayers footing most of the bill for a catastrophic accident.<8> An analysis by economists Heyes and Heyes (1998) places the value of the government insurance subsidy at $2.3 million per reactor-year, or $237 million annually.<9> In 2008 the Congressional Budget Office estimated the value of the subsidy at only $600,000 per reactor per year. <10> Due to the structure of the liability immunities as the number of nuclear plants in operation is reduced the public liability in case of an accident goes up.<11>

The free government-granted insurance given to for-profit nuclear plant operators in the Price-Anderson Act has been used as an example of corporate welfare by Ralph Nader.<11>

Price-Anderson has been criticized by many of these groups due to a portion of the Act that indemnifies Department of Energy and private contractors from nuclear incidents even in cases of gross negligence and willful misconduct (although criminal penalties would still apply). "No other government agency provides this level of taxpayer indemnification to non-government personnel". <12> The Energy Department counters those critics by saying that the distinction is irrelevant, since the damage to the public would be the same. <13>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price%E2%80%93Anderson_Nuclear_Industries_Indemnity_Act#Criticisms

[annabanana]

1. rec this to the front page for visibility. . .n/t

[northoftheborder]

2. kick

[azul]

3. Nuclear reactors are non-competitive in the real world

for this reason, and for having to guard the waste for the next thousands of years.

[Dogmudgeon]

4. How much disaster indemnity insurance are oil companies required to have?

ZERO.

We found that out last year with the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

In spite of a few promises to enact such legislation, nothing was done. I guess Nader's story had its effect, that an indemnity requirement is really a huge subsidy.

--d!

[FBaggins]

5. Or really ANY company.

Nobody carries insurance for the absolute worst event that could happen.

Is the government giving us all a bailout by only requiring 250k or 500k of liability insurance on our auto policies?

But it's possible to do many millions of dollars in damage with a car.

[wtmusic]

6. Greenpeace is wrong.

Three Mile Island's primary insurance paid the whole $71 million tab. Not a dime from Price-Andersen, which in the worst accident in US nuclear history, actually far overstates the risks inherent in atomic power.

Fail.