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Is nuclear power actually safer than you think?

We questioned the Chernobyl nuclear disaster death count last week. But how does nuclear power compare to other sources of energy? Could it actually have saved two million lives?

We questioned the death count of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in last week鈥檚 edition of More or Less World Service after being inspired by the new TV miniseries about the incident. In the end, Professor Jim Smith of Portsmouth University came up with an estimate of 15,000 deaths.

In this episode, we ask how deadly nuclear power is overall and compare it with other sources of energy. Dr Hannah Ritchie of the University of Oxford joins Charlotte McDonald to explore.

Image:Chernobyl nuclear plant, October 1st 1986
Credit: Getty Images

Available now

9 minutes

Broadcasts

  • Mon 8 Jul 2019 12:50GMT
  • Tue 9 Jul 2019 01:50GMT

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