A Quantitative Literacy View of Natural Disasters and Nuclear Facilities

The March 11, 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Tohoku, Japan, highlights the need to improve quantitative literacy (QL) in natural hazard assessment. A critical understanding of natural hazard assessments requires a sophisticated perspective on the mathematical and statistical tools used to estimate the odds of disaster, and the roles of data quality, model development, and subjective probability in estimation of uncertainty. Thus, improved QL is a basic requirement for improved decision-making about the safety of critical infrastructure, such as nuclear facilities.