Risk statistics on energy

Risk statistics on energy

The risks of potential accidents at nuclear power plants are compared to the risks of other energy forms by a new OECD report for policymakers considering nuclear energy.

The OECD's analysis, Comparing Nuclear Accident Risks with Those from Other Energy Sources, is meant to help policymakers understand how accident risks are managed at nuclear plants and illustrate that with a comparison of risks from other energy sources. The intergovernmental body presented data compiled by the Paul Scherrer Institute on every accident causing five or more prompt deaths in the energy industry between 1969 and 2000.

In that time period there were 1870 such severe accidents around the world resulting in 81,258 deaths. The only severe accident at a nuclear power plant - Chernobyl - killed 31 plant and emergency workers.