I wish there had been a careful reexamination of standards based on new knowledge.
More likely is that bringing old plants up to standard was too expensive. Or even worse, taking them off the grid.
In my view this is the real danger of nuclear power: New plants are probably quite safe but they are very expensive to maintain when they get old. On the other hand, if you relax the standard they are more profitable the older they get. So at some point you end up with a lot of old plants that are extremely expensive to maintain or shut down.
More likely is that bringing old plants up to standard was too expensive. Or even worse, taking them off the grid.
In my view this is the real danger of nuclear power: New plants are probably quite safe but they are very expensive to maintain when they get old. On the other hand, if you relax the standard they are more profitable the older they get. So at some point you end up with a lot of old plants that are extremely expensive to maintain or shut down.