That still doesn't prevent leaks like Fukashima though, but that has had a very small impact so far, that I'd be tempted to even call negligible - especially if you compare it to the problems pollution causes from lignite plants.
By the way, what's the point of comparing Fukushima to something else terrible?
>A screening program a year later in 2012 found that more than a third (36%) of children in Fukushima Prefecture have abnormal growths in their thyroid glands.
I think that's hardly comparable to coal.
Because in Germany the concrete choice 10-15 years ago was between developing nuclear, or burning lignite now and importing gas from oligarchies later. These were the only two options on table which were politically and technically feasible. (And then Fukushima made nuclear no longer politically feasible. And now it's also too late to be technically feasible.)
Coal is much bigger killer, just too slow to make for good news story.
As an aside, what is the base rate? In all the reporting on this number I've not been able to find it. (Only that the base rate among adults is around 50%, which may or may not be comparable.)
Btw. 660 bill on clean up thats nowhere to be done is big impact.