Fact check: Brown coal kills 1100 people through accidents and emissions for every 1 person nuclear energy kills through accidents and emissions

1. Summary of the results

The original statement's core claim about the relative safety of nuclear versus brown coal energy is supported by multiple independent analyses, though the exact ratio differs from the "1100 to 1" claim. Specifically:

• Brown coal causes approximately 32.8 deaths per terawatt hour (TWh) ^[1]
• Nuclear energy results in approximately 0.012 deaths per TWh from accidents ^[2]
• Overall, nuclear energy has resulted in just 90 deaths per 1000TWh, making it one of the safest energy sources available ^[3]
• The data confirms that nuclear energy results in 99.9% fewer deaths compared to brown coal ^{[4] [5]}

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original statement lacks several crucial pieces of context:

• In 60 years of civil nuclear power generation across 18,500 reactor-years, there have been only three significant accidents ^[6]
• Of these accidents, only Chernobyl has resulted in deaths from radiation exposure among workers or the public ^[6]
• Across 667 nuclear power plants built since 1951, only 32 total deaths have been attributed to the three major nuclear accidents (Chernobyl, Fukushima, and Three Mile Island) ^[3]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

While the statement's general premise is supported by the data, there are some potential issues:

• The specific "1100 to 1" ratio appears to be an oversimplification of the actual statistics. While nuclear energy does result in 99.9% fewer deaths ^[5], the exact ratio varies depending on the metrics used
• The statement doesn't acknowledge that different types of coal have different mortality rates, focusing specifically on brown coal
• The comparison might benefit anti-coal industry groups and nuclear energy advocates, though the data appears to be scientifically sound across multiple sources

It's worth noting that all provided sources consistently support nuclear energy's superior safety record, making this a rare case where the evidence strongly supports one conclusion, despite potential biases in how the numbers are presented.