# Is Nuclear Power Safe?

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### Three Mile Island Unit 2 accident details

Three Mile Island Unit 2 accident details
Labels: Inferred, Low

### Three Mile Island Unit 2 and TMI-1 subsequent events

Three Mile Island Unit 2 and TMI-1 subsequent events
Labels: Inferred, Low

### Chernobyl Unit 4 accident details

Chernobyl Unit 4 accident details
Labels: Inferred, Low

### Energy source death rates

Energy source death rates
Labels: Inferred, Low

#### claim_02fb189234c53b7c3bf42dcd

The undamaged sister unit, TMI-1, operated until 2019.
Labels: Source-linked, Low, known

#### claim_6978e82ddfec42d661760524

Our World in Data's comparison, based on Markandya & Wilkinson (2007) and Sovacool et al. (2016), estimates nuclear power at approximately 0.03 deaths per terawatt-hour.
Labels: Source-linked, Medium, known

#### claim_8d24999cfe60321d59a48afd

Brown coal (lignite) is estimated to cause approximately 24.6 deaths per terawatt-hour, according to Our World in Data's comparison.
Labels: Inferred, Medium, known

#### claim_cffb287e940f54132ce5b5fe

Nuclear power deaths are concentrated, visible, and attributable to specific named events, unlike fossil fuel deaths which are diffuse and statistical.
Labels: Inferred, Medium, known

#### claim_d379a07d0809979dfb82a5f7

The Three Mile Island Unit 2 accident occurred on March 28, 1979, in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
Labels: Inferred, Low, known

#### claim_d611984e4bd6b814e905a96f

The Chernobyl Unit 4 accident occurred on April 26, 1986, in the Ukrainian SSR.
Labels: Inferred, Low, known

##### claim_1033d2ba1aad23a399c2946c

The cleanup of Three Mile Island Unit 2 lasted approximately 14 years and cost about $1 billion.
Labels: Inferred, Low, known

##### claim_29e711926c630c547bb8829f

Multiplying the 2007 Markandya & Wilkinson/ExternE rates by 2021 global electricity output undercounts total fossil electricity deaths relative to newer sector-attributable estimates.
Labels: Inferred, Medium

##### claim_2b05b53996aac68003670151

The figures for brown coal/lignite and hard coal death rates derive from Markandya & Wilkinson (2007) in The Lancet, specifically Table 2, which is based on the EU ExternE project for European fuel cycles.
Labels: Source-linked, Medium

##### claim_3431e354285bf260c1104f26

Global average death rates for coal could be 4–9 times higher (~93–224 deaths/TWh) than the Markandya & Wilkinson/ExternE figures, based on more recent research such as Lelieveld et al. which estimates far higher fossil-fuel air-pollution mortality.
Labels: Inferred, High

##### claim_50fcbf7d33eafee49f77b8ed

There were no deaths or detectable health effects from the Three Mile Island Unit 2 accident.
Labels: Inferred, Medium, known

##### claim_54b120d4a9e51f8faeee95ce

Accident fatalities are a minor component (~0.12 deaths/TWh combined public + occupational for both lignite and coal in the 2007 table) of the death rate for lignite and coal.
Labels: Inferred, Medium

##### claim_77411d18120ef5c27a0363fc

The Kemeny Commission, chaired by Dartmouth College president John Kemeny, reported in October 1979 that the fundamental problems at Three Mile Island were people, procedures, and management, not hardware.
Labels: Inferred, Medium, known

##### claim_8da41fd7549d34d6f4da53d7

Our World in Data (OWID) explicitly states that nuclear energy results in 99.9% fewer deaths than brown coal and 99.8% fewer deaths than coal, using these rates in its safety comparisons.
Labels: Source-linked, High

##### claim_a13e06659491c7a8b9aa61fd

Lignite's higher per-TWh death rate compared to hard coal is largely due to its lower energy density (typically <16.5 MJ/kg vs. 16.5–32.5 MJ/kg for hard coal) and higher moisture/ash/sulfur content in many deposits.
Labels: Inferred, High

##### claim_aa232636016ad9135c88cbdb

The Chernobyl accident was caused by a botched turbine-coast-down safety test at low power, combined with the RBMK reactor's positive void coefficient and a graphite-tipped control rod design flaw.
Labels: Inferred, Low, known

##### claim_adb189b4c385645803ca1078

The death rate figures for nuclear power and brown coal include both accident fatalities and air-pollution mortality.
Labels: Inferred, Low, known

##### claim_ba0ee7b683d0e4b2fae035b5

Markandya & Wilkinson (2007) data shows lignite/brown coal causes approximately 32.6 air-pollution-related deaths per TWh (with a 95% CI of 8.2–130) and approximately 0.12 accident deaths (public + occupational), totaling approximately 32.72 deaths per TWh.
Labels: Source-linked, High

##### claim_ba9b55098ae3887d8f50a455

In 2024, Constellation Energy announced plans to restart TMI-1 as the "Crane Clean Energy Center" under a power deal with Microsoft.
Labels: Source-linked, Low, investigate

##### claim_d4522c3480dd723cf01a283e

Our World in Data (OWID) and related analyses note that the Markandya & Wilkinson/ExternE European figures are likely very conservative because they are based on state-of-the-art plants with pollution controls and older air-pollution health models.
Labels: Source-linked, Medium

##### claim_d9727d20365a98dd682a0971

Markandya & Wilkinson (2007) data shows hard coal causes approximately 24.5 air-pollution-related deaths per TWh and approximately 0.12 accident deaths, totaling approximately 24.62 deaths per TWh.
Labels: Inferred, High

##### claim_e87e64c932bf708d5a717f85

Chronic effects account for 88–99% of deaths associated with energy production, according to Markandya & Wilkinson (2007) data.
Labels: Inferred, Medium

##### claim_fc73d6e1a13da00e1d54f614

The Three Mile Island Unit 2 accident involved a partial meltdown of approximately half of the reactor core.
Labels: Inferred, Low, known

##### claim_fe7939a4f6a2fde1e0bff2da

The Chernobyl accident resulted in a power excursion, steam explosion, and a graphite fire that burned for approximately 10 days.
Labels: Inferred, Low, known

###### claim_52852e2ffd886c0a28c174a0

Two workers died in the explosion during the Chernobyl accident.
Labels: Inferred, Medium, known

###### claim_63a7471667e32ef5ab4eda46

The Kemeny Commission recommended abolishing and restructuring the NRC's management.
Labels: Source-linked, Medium, known

###### claim_cc891ca50b60d88c55602d75

The NRC states that the average dose to the approximately 2 million people in the Three Mile Island area was about 1 millirem.
Labels: Source-linked, Medium, known

###### claim_ed34bd84aa5a5de99ba8828c

The Three Mile Island Unit 2 partial meltdown was caused by a stuck-open pilot-operated relief valve and operator misdiagnosis.
Labels: Inferred, Low, known

###### claim_5fc416f87660295fb9e986a2

The natural background radiation in the Three Mile Island area is roughly 100–125 mrem/year.
Labels: Source-linked, Low, known