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Nuclear Engineering
The Nuclear Power Thread
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[QUOTE="russ_watters, post: 98293, member: 142"] That just plain isn't true - in the US (and I would venture to say Western Europe) anyway. Unfortunately, fusion power is still a very long way off. I've been thinking about this one for a day now. In engineering ethics, the Ford Pinto (I think) case was discussed in detail. There, the execs weighed the cost of fixing the fuel tank flaw against cost of dealing with all the lawsuits and other backlash resulting from people burning to death. They miscalculated and lost a lot of money and got a lot of bad press. The usual conclusion is that you can't put a price on a human life. But you can - you must. And EVERYONE, even those who won't admit it, do it all the time. Whether its actual money or just plain convenience (your overall odds of dying in a car crash are 10%), people weigh risks and make choices based on those risks. As an engineer, my designs are governed by laws and standards, so that reduces the choice for me and therefore my liability, but its always going to be there. Whenever someone asks me about the value of a human life - (ie, we should spend $XXX to make YYY safer), I ask them how many immunizations that money would buy for children in Africa. Or pre-natal care for pregnant inner city women in the US. You get to a point where spending a whole lot of money will only gain you a very small improvement in health/safety when it comes to engineering issues. [/QUOTE]
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