Keep in mind that the article was written with humorous intent, but nuclear power plants are one reason that civil defense precautions and actual education about things like radiation are useful.

Nuclear reactors can't blow up like an A-bomb, and even a major radiation leak is likely to be an isolated issue as far as any serious levels of radiation are concerned.

There's a background paper on Chernobyl here, to give you some idea of worst-case consequences. Note the actual casualty numbers. More background on that here. Chernobyl, unlike U.S. reactors, did not have a containment structure.

In all the years nuclear power has been used, Chernobyl is the only accident from an operating power plant that resulted in death.

These tables make interesting reading.

Potassium Iodide pills are not "radiation pills." There isn't any such thing.

Radioactive isotopes of iodine are one possible consequence of a nuclear accident. They are particularly dangerous because the body collects iodine in the thyroid gland, and even a mild radiation source can be dangerous if concentrated inside the body. The Potassium Iodide pills saturate the thyroid with iodine so it can't pick up possible radioactive iodine from the environment. This works, but its specific use should be understood.

ER is right. The citizens themselves will be the worst problem, and if there are deaths, it will be from riots, auto accidents, and other lunacy.

A population that has been trained for a generation by the media and others to be crazy about the idea of radiation will, not surprisingly, become crazy.