Because of the cultural stigma associated with radiations (which itself comes from the very real fear of a world-ending nuclear war during the early cold war) most smokers would refused to live around a nuclear accident site, even though it's quickly (after the most radioactive elements, namely iodine, has decayed away) much less dangerous than the cigarette they knowingly smoke all day.
Fun fact: did you know that in Germany alone the area of what has been destroyed by coal mining is comparable in size to the exclusion zone of Fukushima. This is when things go alright with coal: https://nitter.42l.fr/autommen/status/1538496930262704128#m
viewed from space: https://nitter.42l.fr/KetanJ0/status/1383023566766096386#m
A long sustained risk is called "life".
That is way, way longer than we have anything like civilization!
A video I watched recently explaining a lot: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aUODXeAM-k
Yet that is half the reason for the drama. The other half being Fukushima and Chernobyl.
Humans are not rational beings, hence we need to look at where their fear comes from, to find appropriate solutions.