exclusion of other considerations are, in the major project, only some of a large number of factors to be considered. Little imagination is required to realize that this extends and complicates the total area of risk which has to be envisaged. The extent of public liabilities which have to be accepted by the sponsors of such projects may be substantially more than they had imagined once serious public debate begins. The necessity to provide security which satisfies emotional rather than scientific criteria can radically alter the cost and indeed, to some extent, the nature of the project. Those who think that apparent benefits will swiftly override other problems should talk to those engaged in the nuclear power industry. These sort of problems can give rise to risks of immense size which have to be taken into account and whose consequences need considerable time and effort to identify. Thus the coverage of risks has to be dealt with in a way which not only satisfies those who are technically knowledgeable and responsible together with their financiers but also government ministers, civil servants, social and environmental groups and others. I realize that at least some of the points I have made have sounded notes of caution but I trust that you do not take them as discouragement. As a famous historian and philosopher once remarked, “for the man about to act, the situation is his Oracle, his Master, his God. Whether he succeeds or not will depend largely on whether he consults the situation with the utmost care, for if he neglects the situation, the situation will not neglect him — it is not a God which allows an insult to go unpunished."
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