The cleanup cost is absurd though. For Fukushima the cost is approaching $1 trillion. That's why the US government passed the Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries

The cleanup cost is absurd though. For Fukushima the cost is approaching $1 trillion. That's why the US government passed the Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act - to give nuclear power plants a free pass for any damage done costing over $300 mil so that sophisticated private insurers who can measure the risks wouldn't run a mile. The real test to new design safety would be to repeal the act and see if sophisticated private insurers will cover them. So far the nuclear industry seems shy about putting extra skin in the game to prove that they're as safe as they claim they are to the general public, though. They'd rather just pretend the act/subsidy doesn't exist.