Things More Dangerous than Nuclear Power: Sting Rays

Thomas Eiden
Jul 21, 2017 · 3 min read

Crikey. Throughout this series, I’ve continuously made the point that commercial nuclear power in the United States has killed zero members of the public. I’ve specifically excluded industrial fatalities such as those involving slips, trips and falls, electrocutions, etc. because environmentalists groups are not demanding the closure of nuclear plants on the basis that there are such industrial accidents. Their rationale is always that “something catastrophic involving nuuucular radiation could occur and kills lots of people (in the general public) and/or all of the baby animals.”

One not so innocent animal, baby or otherwise, is the Stingray. We are all aware of the tragic loss of Steve Irwin to a stingray barb, which occurred in Australia. A freak accident involving a stingray killing a fish tank diver also occurred in Singapore.

But since I’m comparing sting rays to commercial nuclear operations within the U.S. (though I can confidently assert the same level of safety for commercial nuclear operations worldwide), an ideal apples-to-apples comparison would involve fatalities caused by sting rays within the United States.

So, has anybody in America fallen victim to the immensely rare stingray sting? It turns out that stingrays are indeed more dangerous than nuclear power in the United States.

Judy Kay Zagorski was a Michigan gal enjoying not being in Michigan while boating in the Florida Keys.

[She] was sitting in the front seat of a boat going 25 mph when the spotted eagle ray, with a wingspan of 5 to 6 feet, leaped out of the water, said Jorge Pino, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The collision knocked Zagorski backward onto the floor of the boat, Pino said.

The impact likely killed the woman, and she did not appear to have puncture wounds from the ray’s barb, Pino said. An autopsy is planned, Pino said.

Which is suuuper crappy luck, considering that:

“Rays jump to escape a predator, give birth and shake off parasites,” said Lynn Gear, supervisor of fishes and reptiles at Theater of the Sea in Islamorada. “They do not attack people.”

To put things in perspective, Ms. Zagorski’s untimely end means that being killed by jumping stingrays on the open ocean have killed more people in the U.S. than the harped upon accident at Three Mile Island, which did not harm anyone.

Not in my backyard.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Idaho National Laboratory or of any agency of the U.S. government.

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Thomas Eiden

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Thomas is a Nuclear Reactor Engineer at the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) in Idaho. He uses neutronics models to design fuel loadings and ensure nuclear safety.

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