A lot of folks love to trash talk coal.
All I know is that if a coal powered thermal palnt catches fire:
It does not explode
It **does not emit lethal radiation** for for the next 100 human generations....
If Fukashima had happen at the time Christ was Crucified, it would still be lethally radioactive today.
Atoms for bombs? OK, I can see that.
Atoms for power plants? Not so much.
***It does not explode***
Duct work and coal pulverizers can and do often explode. Sometimes the coal will burn with spontaneous combustion.