The pursuit of perfection, inherent in the nuclear regulatory process and escalating licensing requirements, is extremely costly—not only in terms of dollars, but also in terms of public health and safety. One month’s delay of a single 1000-MW(e) [l-GW(e)] nuclear station can lead to 38 000 equivalent person-days of illness if the replacement electricity is generated equally by oil and coal-fired stations representative of current practice. This cost exceeds, by a factor of ∼10, the public health and safety risk imposed by possible nuclear meltdown accidents over the entire 40-yr life of a nuclear plant, as assessed by the Reactor Safety Study, WASH-1400. The responsibility of the nuclear regulator is to attempt to minimize nuclear risk through ever-increasing regulatory requirements. It is not his job to be reasonable, or to worry about economics, or to be concerned about adverse health and safety effects caused by alternatives to nuclear power. Therefore, it is the societal obligation of the nuclear industry to oppose unreasonable regulatory demands.