It has been concluded in studies conducted by, for example the World Health Organisation, that the radiation health effects of nuclear accidents have been very small. The hydro accident with the highest death toll was the collapse of the Banqiao Dam in China’s Henan province in 1975, which resulted in 171,000 direct and indirect fatalities according to official estimates. In terms of the number of deaths from accidents, hydroelectric power is the deadliest method of generating electricity. Air pollution from the combustion of fossil fuels, including in power plants, causes 8.7 million deaths every year, making fossil fuels the deadliest energy source overall. In the history of civil nuclear energy, there have only been two major accidents where a large amount of radioactive material was emitted: at Chernobyl (1986), which has resulted in 46 deaths so far, and at Fukushima Daiichi (2011), which resulted in no casualties. The provision of reliable electricity brings huge benefits to society, but its production, like any other industrial activity, is not without risk. Nuclear is the safest energy source we use anywhere in the world. There have only been two major accidents at nuclear power plants, and their impacts have been far less severe than widely feared. What are the effects of nuclear accidents?
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