3 Sep (NucNet): The nuclear energy industry is perceived as high risk, but comparison with other energy sources shows “far fewer fatalities”, according to a study by the OECD’s Nuclear Energy Agency.
The study, primarily directed at policymakers, uses an “impressive” collection of data gathered by the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland. The data consists of accidents that have caused five or more “prompt fatalities” from 1969 onwards.
The study considers the “full energy chain” from exploration and extraction to waste treatment and disposal. It looks at severe accidents, which it defines as accidents that result in five or more prompt fatalities.
The study concludes that, contrary to the expectations of many people, nuclear power generation presents “a very low risk” in comparison to the use of fossil fuels.
PSI’s database contains data on 1,870 severe energy related accidents. It shows that from 1969 to 2000 there were 81,258 immediate fatalities across all energy chains. There were 1,221 severe accidents in the coal industry, but only one – Chernobyl – in the nuclear industry. In OECD countries there has never been a severe accident at a nuclear power plant.
There were 31 immediate fatalities following the Chernobyl accident, with latent deaths expected to be between 9,000 and 33,000 over the next 70 years. However, the OECD estimates that latent deaths from particulates in air pollution were 960,000 for 2000 alone, with about 30 percent of this pollution attributable to energy sources.
The worst energy related accident was the Banqiao/Shimantan dam failure in China in 1975 when some 30,000 people were killed.
The study is online: www.nea.fr/ndd/reports/2010/nea6862-comparing-risks.pdf
>>Related reports in the NucNet database (available to subscribers)
Safety Remains Central To The Future Of Nuclear, Says Echávarri (World Nuclear Review No. 42, 16 October 2009)
Global Safety Regime Incomplete Without Liability, Says IAEA (News in Brief No. 110, 18 June 2010)
