I'll admit it straight away: I am a child of the 80s, and "no nukes" was practically a meditation for us during the Reagan years. But in 2005, when I visited France, I had to admit that their water was exceptionally clean. I also freely admit that solving the power crisis (short of getting rid of all the people that use it) will require a diversified toolkit, which likely includes nuclear power.
There's an interesting little town named Bollene in Southern France, right off the freeway running south. I was lucky enough to be able to check it out on a road trip through that part of the world, a few years ago. There's a nice Inn there, but mostly it's a working class town, more of a north African vibe, people drinking more beer and less wine, and a really big Nuclear power complex, called Tricastin. This part of France is called Vaucluse, and it's beautiful.
Well, as of today, here's the news: On July 8th, 2008, French officials announced after a long delay that some 7,925 Gallons (30.000 litres) of Uranium solution containing 12g Natural uranium/litre have been accidentally released into the ground. A tank had been filled with the Uranium solution although the tank's containment was not functional due to repair work. For some reason the Uranium solution spilled over and trickled into the ground. Respective polution was found in two small rivers nearby.
Authorities banned the consumption of well water in three nearby towns and the watering of crops from the two rivers. Swimming, water sports and fishing were also banned. Another nuclear safety agency official, Charles-Antoine Louet, said the liquid contained about 794 pounds of unenriched natural uranium, which he said is toxic but only slightly radioactive.
So this is just a cautionary footnote in a long story. If we're going to resort to Nuclear Power, we'd better make damned sure we know what to do with the toxics.