There is more radioactive material to release from a reactor than a bomb - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Chernobyl_and_other_radioactivity_rele

There is more radioactive material to release from a reactor than a bomb - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Chernobyl_and_other_radioactivity_releases#Chernobyl_compared_with_an_atomic_bomb http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Chernobyl_and_oth.... Whilst a bomb will cause an area to become radioactive itself (through neutron bombardment) that is confined to the local area and I think tends to have short half-lives.