Evaluating the Nation's Risk Assessors: nuclear power and the 'value of life'

The article reports on the risks posed by nuclear power in Great Britain. The value of reducing these risks should be monitored by the Department of Transport and by the Health and Safety Executive. The Sizewell nuclear power station has exposed to public scrutiny some of the workings of the risk assessors. Researchers stated that the human capital measure of lost resources is not the right way to incorporate a value of life into a cost-benefit based decision-making procedure. As observed, the human capital values used by the two agencies are open to serious question. INSET: How Much Would People Pay for Safety.