Nuclear

Electricity from fission reactors and their fuel cycle.

At this rate, one death corresponds to about 2.1 million–5 million people's annual electricity.

Deaths per terawatt-hour

Nuclear1 death / 2.1M–5.0M

0.03–0.07

This scale is logarithmic: each step to the right is ten times the previous one, so the visual distance understates how much larger the fossil numbers really are.

counted deaths · modeled deaths

The small grey figure under each source is the same rate turned human: roughly how many people’s yearly electricity corresponds to one death. Coal, about 700–6,000 people; solar, a few million.

The figures as a table

Deaths per terawatt-hour by source, low to high, with the counted and modeled split.
Source	Low	High	Modeled	1 death per
Nuclear	0.03	0.07	70%	2.1M–5.0M people

Deaths

0.03–0.07 deaths/TWh

Long-term cancer deaths are modeled with the linear no-threshold assumption.

Our World in Data, What are the safest and cleanest sources of energy?

CO₂

3.7–110 gCO₂eq/kWh

IPCC AR5 WGIII Annex III lifecycle emissions medians

Land

0.3–1.9 km²/TWh/yr

Direct plant footprint. Van Zalk & Behrens (2018) give a nuclear median of about 0.47 km²/TWh/yr (240.8 We/m²).

Van Zalk & Behrens 2018, spatial extent of energy generation

Cost

175–255 USD/MWh

Lazard LCOE+ 2026 (v19.0) US nuclear, roughly $175–$255/MWh, average about $215.

Lazard LCOE+ 2026, version 19.0

The uncounted cost — priced at the central value of a statistical life ($14.1M), Nuclear's death toll is worth about $0.42 per MWh generated — against a market price of $215/MWh. That cost is on no electricity bill. Value of a life →

How it kills

Mostly through modeled long-term cancer deaths projected from low-dose radiation exposure — not through reactor accidents. The counted fatalities of Chernobyl and Fukushima are a small part of the number.

What dominates the number

Modeled cancer projections under the linear no-threshold (LNT) model dominate, not acute accident deaths. LNT is contested, and dropping it would push the rate lower still.

What the estimate does not capture

Site conditions, country-specific controls, labor practices, reliability, storage, and long-tail waste questions are outside this coefficient.

Put this in a grid →