That said, there have been some pretty nasty events associated with coal as well, which are however surprisingly unknown: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_

That said, there have been some pretty nasty events associated with coal as well, which are however surprisingly unknown: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Fossil_Plant_coal_fly_ash_slurry_spill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingston_Fossil_Plant_coal_fly_... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_County_sludge_spill http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_County_sludge_spill Doesn't compare to the potential consequences of a nuclear incident, but it's quite possible to build and mishandle crappy coal infrastructure, too.