Further comments on my angry reply on Friday

[David Walland <David.Walland@bristol.ac.uk>]

Dear All,

First my apologies to any (especially Sandy Perle) whom I may have offended.  One of the problems with my reply is 
that that many of you read something that I didn't say.  I am like most of you totally convinced that the hardware is 
there to run Nuclear Power safely.  Had all the bits and pieces been in place then even Chernobyl could run 
moderately safely.  The problem is like road safety - "The Nut that Holds the Wheel".  I accept that very high levels of 
training are now in place BUT I do not accept that someone cannot override the system.  Considering the levels of 
mental problems we have in our societies alone this gives cause for worry (mixing megalomania and nuclear power 
station control is a horrifying thought).

Aside from the important work being done in the States on the problems of the structure of the fear process there is 
important work being done in Canada, the UK and in Holland that I know of.  All this binds neatly to show the same 
basic premises.  The problem with all this is that the fears are OUTSIDE of logic.  No logical approach will help to 
reduce the fear level so one is left almost powerless to combat the problem.  I recently spent well over an hour with a 
very intelligent young female scientist who is leaving the laboratory because she fears the effects working with tritiated 
compounds  may have on her children yet unborn.  Having worked at her for a fair while I have stopped her laying 
awake at nights because she trusts me personally and I have given her my word that I personally believe there is a 
vanishingly small risk.  Not because of reasoned argument you notice.  Now I'm sure you don't have time to do this 
sort of thing very often any more than I do.  I haven't even begun to reach her boyfriend or others around her so 
there's likely to be a slow erosion of belief in my word anyway.  Now this is an intelligent woman who has had a lot of 
scientific training - how do we reach those who have none?  Still less will logic convince them.  I spend a good deal of 
my spare time trying to reduce the fear people have by taking their fears seriously and not belittling them because they 
don't understand and go way over the top.  It's an uphill struggle and few are very convinced nor convinced for very 
long.

David Walland
Bristol University (UK)
David.Walland@bristol.ac.uk